UnderIsle
by Cryonisia
Summary: There once was a place, so odd if I told you its story, you would think of it as some uncanny fairy tale, but I assure you, this fable of mine isn't some mere lie. This uncommon place was an Isle, inhabited by such a peculiar fauna and an unsettling flora that it seemed that the unexpected was its natural state. But even in the strangest place on Earth, there can be suprises...
1. The Sanctuary

Humankind is a peculiar species. As much as it can give birth to the most magnificent masterpieces, this race is also bond to cruelty and destruction. Once was a man obsessed by the weirdness and the horrors he thought he could create. In order to realize his ambitions, he spent his days and nights locked inside his home, where phials, machines and dusty books covered every visible corner. Hidden from every eyes in town, he proceeded to his twisted experiments, trying to push the limits of life. He was rarely seen under the light of the sun, but when it occurred, he always carried a bag or a wallet, filled with God knows what. Everyone gossiped and whispered about what was being done in the dark of his laboratory. So lived W.D. Gaster. A man surrounded by mystery, but cursed to be the victim of the hatred and filthy curiosity of the townspeople. His almost certainly unethical practices made him a despised being among his neighbours. Screams and groans often came out of his home, but none dared venturing inside nor even nearby, fearing what might be taking place on his property. And since none had proofs of his wrong deeds, nothing was being done to him, by fear of his wrath.

However, one day, he was caught stealing a corpse from the cemetery, and the townspeople, now given a legitimate reason, gathered and chased the madman out of his home, destroying what he had left behind. Gaster, fleeing but without losing his dignity, held up to the small remains of his research, saved in extremis from the flames, and cursed humankind for not understanding his genius. He then went on a journey to find a new haven, a sanctuary for his crazy intellect to prosper in peace. He left on a small boat he could afford with the gold he had left and sailed overseas for years before finding a deserted island, filled with pines, oaks, maples and wild flowers. He went ashore and installed himself deep in the forest. He lacked human bodies for his experiments, so he used various animals instead, which were numerous on this wild new home of his.

Over the years he built a new laboratory, one much greater than the previous he owned. Here his madness could flow and thrive as he wished and thus grew a new ambition in his mind: twisting nature, have the laws of biology bow to him. He created atrocities, anthropomorphic creatures that he released on the island, watching their development, studying the life he created blossom before his very eyes. And to his delight he one day found two rotten bodies, whom might have belonged to reckless adventurers. He created two living skeletons out of them and released them with his other creations.

His madness became a source of life and on this island that was now completely his, he could let his demented genius prosper. And so to protect the work of his life, he created the ultimate barrier between his realm and the world that rejected him, with his machines and his craziness, he gave birth to an eternal storm of never-ending rain and gigantic waves surrounding his little paradise of darkness. Nothing could enter, just as nothing could leave. His work was trapped within the Isle and so was he. And he was the only one capable of breaking this barrier he created.


	2. Alphys

Over the years, the madman realized his monsters became more alert, more… intelligent. Intrigued by this unexpected turn of events, he managed to isolate some of his most vivid subjects into special cages. And to his surprise, after multiple stimulations through electrical shocks and drug consumption, some of them became more attentive to the world around them. They were slowly growing… self-aware. His mind was blown off, astonished by the fast progress his creations had accomplished. Thrived by this wondrous development, he selected his most cognizant creatures and proceeded to various dissections and examinations, always learning more about their cognitive abilities. If his first monsters had been completely sustainable and viable, his new generation would be just as bright and receptive as a human was. Each time one of his beasts had awaken from the unconscious slumber of its wildness, he simply released them into the wild, watching how they would adapt to their new existence. Obviously, his very first newly aware subjects were nearly all mentally unstable and the vast majority of them simply couldn't handle their new condition. And so many of them blatantly committed suicide.

With time and practice, Gaster succeeded to create monsters not only gifted with consciousness, but also demonstrating a will to live and create. He assisted to the birth of a micro-society able to thrive and develop itself without his guiding hand. They had even created their own idiom! His twisted mind felt accomplished each time he took a glance at this little world born from his lunacy, even though their little way of life was mostly a pitiful attempt to survive as large groups. Their "cities" were little lamentable shacks and sheds gathered in various biomes and they didn't occupy much space. And hence they were afar from his laboratory, they lived their sad lives without even coming across him. They weren't even aware of his existence. Although, he didn't wish to be revealed to the monsters, and so he sheltered himself into the shadows of his home, hiding from his own work, watching, taking notes.

However, as time passed, he became older and conducting his experiments became a laborious task to pursue on his own. Then, an interesting flourished in his mind. He needed an assistant. It now appeared clear to him: if he aspired to continue as he had for the past years, he shouldn't do it companionless.

From that day forward, he worked on creating a little beast that would obey blindly and submit to him, and that would, at the same time, be as skilled and competent as he was. He used various specimen, but one in particular presented more potential than the others: it consisted into a little yellow lizard, which he had grown to the size of a seven-year-old child through genetic manipulation. After months of hard work and maniacal caring, the little female lizard had developed a brilliant mind and she listened to him as if he had been the wisest man in the world. Well, it might have been her reality, since her whole world ended where the doors of the laboratory stood. Her yellow skin turned a bit to the grey due to what he had done to her, but ignoring that fact, she was perfectly healthy and ready for duty.

Then, he equipped her with improvised clothing, goggles and gloves, but, most importantly, a name: **Alphys**.


	3. Phial of Life

The monsters were thriving and prospering, their "civilization", flourishing a bit more every day. The madman had accomplished his ambitions; not only had he created sustainable forms of life born from his knowledge, but he had made sure they would bloom and it is with an ounce of pure delight that he overserved them develop a little society and a hierarchy of their own. And to his astonishment, they even managed to reproduce successfully and bring into the world a healthy offspring.

However, with years passing by, he didn't become any younger, to his exceptional frustration. He was turning old, and with his flesh becoming flabby and his muscles loosening, he could not work as efficiently as he used to. And it's with annoyance that he welcomed the use of his cane, his legs now too frail to fully support his body. However, he did thank himself for creating the sweet little Alphys. If she started first as a faithful assistant, she had now become his only ally against this fight that is aging. She took notes, followed minutely his instructions for every experiment -which were growing rarer- and maintained order in the laboratory, all of it without flinching. She often asked about the world outside their property, but as long as he wished for it, she would not leave his side. Even though he enjoyed working along with his shy little fellow, he did not look forward to his death, which was approaching a bit more each time life blessed him with another day. It had him worried and anxious. The cessation of his life would be even more dramatic now that he had achieved to create his own monsters: he profoundly desired to watch them grow and live under his attentive eyes, not to disappear and leave the work of his life evolve without him.

And then, one day, as he wondered about the future of his little haven, a delectable gift showed the point of its nose in his sanctuary. Long ago he had created a never-ending storm around his isle in order to hide it from the world's hatred and closed-mindedness and, for the first time since then, a human got castaway in his personal realm. It was a little child –about nine or ten- and they did not represent a threat to him, but a unique opportunity; if he could get his hands on the only human of the isle besides himself, maybe he could extend his own existence. As you see, humans like him possessed a source of power appropriately called "determination". It was the very source of his life, but, as it did with everyone, years regressed his own determination, leaving him on the brink of death. However, like all men and women, he was able to pilfer another human's determination. It was, indeed, illegal, but he did not show enough empathy and compassion to respect this law. He would have done it a long time ago to extend his own life on the island, but the monsters he created all lacked this power and thus, by creating a tempest around the island, he had doomed himself to death. Upon realizing his mistake, he cursed himself a thousand times and started mourning his end to come.

But now, with this human child, a new hope flourished within him. If he could lure the infant to his domain, he could easily take its life with the help of a simple revolver or get Alphys to lock it up in cage. Yes, the arrival of this fellow human, he could survive longer, much longer. And as concocted a strategy to get this little youngster, he watched his screens, observing and waiting.


	4. Cold Blood

Before doing anything, he first wanted to observe his monsters' reaction to the human. Would they act aggressively toward the child? Or would they treat the infant as one of their own? On his screens, he watched the small one awake on the shore and struggle to get on its feet. Once up and fully aware of the situation, the child walked around the forest, visibly frightened by its darkness and its mystery. But the youngling soon realized the beach didn't offer any form of shelter nor subsistence, and hence they penetrated the dense forest of his realm with an ounce of hesitation and fear in their eyes.

Gaster started to worry. What if his creatures, when they'd see the human, started attacking it upon sight? He would lose his only opportunity to avoid death a little longer. Anxious about this possible outcome, he called Alphys to his side and almost gave her the order to fetch the child, but by the time she had joined him in front of his screens, he watched the little one coming across one of his beasts. Panic started to flow in and he might have died right on the spot if he hadn't noticed which creature had shown up: it was the cub of two other monsters on the island. It was still a young little thing, and thus, it acted like a child. No wonder why, when the two saw each other and once the fear and surprise had passed, they started to chat. Well, they at least tried since they obviously didn't speak the same tongue. But children are a marvel of astonishment, and even if they could not understand the one another, they were slowly bonding. The little monster cub noticed the human's wounds and succeeded to bring his new friend along with him. When they reached the little cub's town, most of its inhabitants saw the new face casually walking alongside the young monster. Now curious, they gathered around the duo and exanimated this new incomer. They all look confused; no fur? No scales? No claws nor spikes? A different tongue? Who was this weird stranger walking in this city of theirs? For a moment, Gaster feared the mature creatures would not appreciate this outsider, and yet they surprised him again: they welcomed the human infant as if it was one of their kind. They fed the child, gave it new clothes, provided it a home among the little cub's family –Asriel was his name- and healed its wounds.

The madman was now put into a dilemma. This phenomenon was extremely intriguing, and given more time, he could learn a lot about his creatures' capacity to adapt to something completely unexpected and strangely different to them. But time was running low. If he waited too long, fate and irony could cause his death. He needed this child's soul and thus he shall let it live among his creations for a little while, but as soon as an occasion would present itself, he would send Alphys to get it.

And so, for a week, he watched as the human lived in this little kingdom of his, being spoiled by the monsters and playing with the younglings. The child even started to learn their language a little. In other circumstances, the scientist would have loved to keep this youngster by his side, but he no longer had a choice if he wanted to survive the game of life. That is why, one day, as he watched Asriel and the human leave the town in order to play into the woods, he fetched Alphys and told her to bait the child to his lab. As loyal as she was, she executed herself and went to meet them. Gaster watched on his screens: Alphys seemed to talk to them and managed to bring them along with her. In a world where even strangers are one's friends, nobody fears to be stabbed in the back. As Alphys walked back to the lab with the children, he patiently loaded his old 1861 Colt and waited for them to come back.

When they entered the lab, Alphys led the infants to the room where he had been waiting. When the duo saw him, fear appeared into their eyes, and panic bloomed as he raised his Colt and fired toward them. He had targeted the human child. But to his most incredible frustration and anger, the young Asriel had noticed whom the gun was targeted toward and had jumped in front of the human and taken the bullet. This was not part of his plan. Oh well, it wasn't the end of the world, he thought. And without thinking, he shot the human infant, killing it. Apparently, Alphys was not comfortable about this situation. She was shivering and looking upon him with fright. He did not care: now that the human was dead, he could finally harvest the determination he so badly needed. The madman ordered Alphys to prepare the bodies: one for his lab, the other for burial. However, for the first time since he had made her his assistant, she hesitated to obey him, but she complied anyways.

He waited for her to be done with preparation, but Alphys never came back to tell him she was ready for the harvest. Intrigued and a bit alarmed, he entered the surgery room and found the human's body on the operation table and a note next to it. He read it. Alphys was gone with Asriel's body. She would give it back to his parents and never would she return.


	5. The Rebirth

Alphys was gone. The body of the child was lying on the operation table, waiting for him to harvest the soul, almost begging him to do it. He would have to do it alone, but with most of the preparations already completed, Gaster did not care. Why would he need that little panicky and shivery traitor that left him on his own? Abusing his trust and planning to destroy what decades of efforts had built? After the harvest, he would reveal himself to the creatures he created and show them the magnificence of his soon to be retrieved youth.

He used his tools and plugged his machines, opened the body and started the surgery. It was not the hardest of tasks, but with his old hands and his poor eyesight, it lasted much longer than he would have wanted. The idea of Alphys wondering outside, fleeing like the coward she was, made him even more frustrated now that he needed her help. However, even though it proved to be arduous, he finally succeeded. After over an hour of onerous labor for someone as old as he was, he took the extractor -an odd gun-shaped looking tool- and attached an empty bottle at its end. When he had made sure it was perfectly sealed, he directed the extractor into the freshly opened body and activated it. He observed as the bottle was being filled with a red liquid- it wasn't blood, but the soul being taken out under a liquid form. The color among individuals could vary, and in this particular case, it was a bright red, one of the rarest colors, and sign of a great power. He hadn't expect to be so lucky, but he shouldn't really have been: after all, what kind of child could survive through a storm like the one raging outside?

Once the bottle had been filled, he abandoned the body and brought the extractor to a table. After, taking minutely the bottle off the extractor, he prepared his arm and a syringe, and filled it with the product of the operation. He took a deep breath and plunged the needle into his forearm and pressed on the syringe. Its content passed through the needle and entered his veins. The madman knew the process would be terribly painful, but nothing could have prepared him to the fire consuming his body from inside. It felt like he had taken a dive into lava, like if his skin was slowly melting while his bones and muscles suddenly grew stronger than they had ever been. He fell to the ground, shaking and screaming, as if the sound of his voice could evacuate his pain, appease his suffering.

He couldn't fight the ache of his probably soon to end existence and thus, was easily gained by the unconscious. Upon awaking –after hours, months, decades? - he got back onto his feet, surprised to still be breathing. Consuming someone else's soul was illegal for two main reasons: one, the individual being robbed of his soul had to die in order for the operation to succeed, and two, nearly everyone who had tried succumbed as well. _Nearly_ everyone. And Gaster felt honored to be one of the few who got through it without getting killed.

He was now taller and thinner than before, and none of his limbs hurt. It felt like he had become young again, but stronger than ever. He walked around a little, and it was just like flying compared to his previous gait. Without even taking a glance at the child he had killed, he went upstairs in order to look at this newer, better version of his body. But as soon as he stepped in front of his mirror, he gasped in horror: yes, he was indeed taller and stronger, but his skin had melted and his face was nothing but a mask of terror, a vague imitation of what it used to be. His eyes were crippled into a horrible position and his mouth, paralysed in a fixed grin full of malignance. Cracks were running through his skull. At first, it troubled him, but truly, he did not care. If things went down and if he wished to regain control of the situation, he would have to be merciless and cruel; a pretty face wouldn't have fit for such a role.

Alphys struggled into the woods, pulling her trail in the dark. She had managed to recover the little Asriel's body and a few books from the lab. She would bring the body back to the village and leave it there along with a note on which she explained what had happened, who Gaster was and everything he had done. She would expose the creatures to the creator. As for her, she felt too ashamed for not seeing sooner who the man truly was before it was too late; she would bear the consequences alone, hidden in the woods. An eternal shame would be her burden. And the other monsters? If they wanted to seek revenge, she could only wish them the best of luck, which they would need if Gaster survived the extraction. The world she had helped to build was now about to crumble down, and she did not want to watch.


	6. The Uprising

Upon arriving nearby the monsters' village, Alphys noticed that most of them were awake and walking back and forth between the houses and the woods. They seemed alarmed and most of those she could observe had their faces crisped by a visible anxiety. From their agitation, she realized that the monsters were used to seeing peers and fellows spawn from the forest, but never had one of them disappeared in it. They must have been looking for the little Asriel and the human they had so warmly welcomed into their lives.

She could not approach much further, and thus she left the little monster cub's body on the trail, close to the edge of the woodland. She then distanced herself from it, by fear of being seen, or worse. After all, she did take part into Gaster's plan and was partly responsible of this tragedy, although she was not aware of the unexpected, yet horrible outcome the madman had schemed.  
As she glared through the twisted flora cloaking her with darkness, she watched one of the villagers approach the trail she had left behind. It seemed to be a female: she was a tall, anthropomorphic creature that appeared to have some aquatic animal's DNA mixed with a human's. Gaster often used his own DNA for some of his subject and it had given birth to this impressive fish-lady-like monster. Alphys had to admit it, she was… quite handsome, really, but mostly, she was imposing and muscular, which frightened her a little. She would have been able to easily break her neck with a swift movement. The lady came across the trail and noticed the shroud delicately covering the cub, and as she lifted it, Alphys could see in the weak light the sheer horror morphing her face into a mask of dread and terror. She expected the monster to run or call for help, but she simply stood there, helpless and crippled by the shock. Death wasn't current on this island where a know-it-all of biology looked after every single of his subject with a maniacal thoroughness, but murder? Murder was most certainly a first.

What took her out of her consternation and disarray, Alphys wasn't sure, but she saw her glance over the note left along with the body and grab it. She read fast, but she clearly understood the message quickly scribbled on it, for her face switched from an expression of fright to disgust and then to pure anger. She put the note away and shouted; it was the most terrifying scream she had ever heard. Then, the lady, powered by the force her fury, pulled the trail toward the village in such speed Alphys could hardly believe someone could possibly be so strong. The little creature waited for her to regain the village and then, approached in silence. All the other monsters were back and had formed a circle around the deceased cub. Alphys could even hear some of them cry in the distance. The parents of the cub approached and, as they saw their son, his eyes opened onto the nothingness of death, reacted extremely differently. The mother could not say a word and simply glared at the body slowly turning to dust. The father, however, reacted nearly as violently as the fish lady and screamed into the night. The other monsters stayed silent, as to respect the pain of the mourning couple.

The lady, after quite a while, then handed over the note to the father –Asgore was his name- and he proceeded to reading it out loud. Every villager listened carefully and Alphys watched and heard. A groan of rage was slowly rising from the citizens and progressively, they were all shouting and chanting, demanding Gaster's head, happily signing about killing him and taking his limbs apart. It was impressive to observe how those usually sweet and passive creatures had suddenly turned into blood thirsty beasts, willing to kill their own creator. But, she thought that since they had been exposed to this kind of violence for the first time, extreme violence probably seemed to be the most logical response.

They quickly organized: Asgore and the lady –Undyne, as someone called her- somehow became the leaders of the mob and throughout the night, monsters from other villages were called to join, gathered weapons –they were mostly agricultural and woodwork tools, but they could prove useful- and soldiers were chosen.

When the day would rise, they would march toward the lab and confront the madman that brought them misery. Alphys knew what awaited them: with the power of the newly harvested soul and if he had survived, Gaster would massacre them. And she knew he was most certainly going to survive the harvest. She had let him execute his wrong deeds once, she could not let it happen twice. They needed help and she would provide it to them. And after all, they didn't need to know she was involved into the cub's death, now did they?

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Gaster watched his screens with amusement. The monsters wanted him dead? Well well well… Things had taken such an interesting turn. He smiled.

They could come seeking for him, he was ready to give them the _warmest_ of welcomes.


	7. The Ultimatum Part 1

Human souls are known to be particularly capricious. If the amount of determination they contain exceeds a precise quantity or, on the other hand, lacks too much, the human being afflicted by the surplus or lack thereof would not survive long enough to realize the mistake. And Alphys was well aware of it. Gaster couldn't have possibly consumed the entirety of the child's soul, otherwise he would have succumbed to his greed. And the lightning coming out of the laboratory assured her that his madness kept him well and alive through the extraction. Although it frightened her, the fact that he was still breathing also meant she still could help her fellow monsters: the little determination he had to leave behind could save them all. If she could use what he hadn't used, it could kill him.

Of course, if her "creator" hadn't survived his desperate attempt to achieve a counterfeit immortality, everything would have been much simpler, but since fate decided otherwise, she had to intervene or watch her people die before her terrified eyes. She was not strong nor brave, but she had knowledge of the man. She ran in order to catch up on the "warriors" on their way for battle and, at the same time, was desperately thinking of finding a way into the lab without being detected, but her thoughts disconnected from reality, so much that she didn't notice the monster in front of her before bumping into it. The shock made her glasses get misplaced on her face. Alphys trampled timid excuses and started put them back into place. Once it was done, she opened her eyes again only to gasp and take a step back, trembling. One of the monsters was right in front of her. And it wasn't an ordinary one: it was one of the two walking skeletons-Sans, as she recalled he was named.

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The little monster in front of him started to shake in fright. He had never seen her before. Was she new? He tried to approach her, but she took a step back and tripped on a root before falling on the ground, sobbing silently. Sans walked toward her and leaned toward her, offering his hand to help her up her feet. He did not understand why she seemed so frightened of him. Maybe she had just appeared? Most monsters who had just spawned were anxious and easily scared by the world around them. "Are you alright?" He asked her. She looked at him. He saw tears flow slowly from her little eyes. She stuttered a little "y-yes" and sniffed. She then took his hand and got up. She was shivery and seemed to need help. He asked for her name. "A-alphys", she answered. She looked away, visibly reluctant to talk to him.

"Did you just appear?" He then asked.  
"Wh-what?" She said.  
"Are you new around here?"  
"N-no! I…. I…"

She then burst into tears again. Sans tried to comfort her, but before he could do anything, she simply started a long speech: who she was, who Gaster was, her work for him and her desperate race through the woods to escape from his craziness and then stop a possible genocide from their creator. He simply listened, baffled by what he had just learned.

"So… You think the others won't stand a chance?" Sans asked.  
"G-gaster, oh my, Gaster… I-if he really i-is alive, th-then…"  
"Then what?"  
"He'll massacre them!" She shouted.  
His face suddenly became as serious as it could.  
"My brother, Papyrus… He went with them. Front line."  
Alphys gasped.  
"I-i'm… so s-sorry."  
She stared at the ground.  
"Isn't there a way to defeat Gatser? Anything?"  
"W-well…. Th-there might b-be one."

She then explained to him how human souls worked, and how she had an idea of turning Gaster's plans against himself.  
"Then, I guess we should hurry."

They ran through the woods as fast as they could. Fortunately, Alphys knew a shortcut: a narrow pathway leading directly to the laboratory. Her studies of the island's landscape through the images the cameras captured over the years had proven useful after all. Sans could easily follow her down the path and they arrived miraculously before the angry mob could. From outside, they could see a spectacle of lightning, bolts of electricity and energetic thunder coming from outside the lab's windows and roof. A maniacal laughter burst out of this apocalyptic tableau. Whatever Gaster was doing, it could turn into a catastrophe. They hurried toward the doors, hoping they would not get hit by the lightning in the process. Once they had reached it, they took a moment to catch their breath and then, after a moment of apprehension in front of the domain of the madman, they entered. Alphys led Sans to the surgery room. As she had hoped, he had left the syringe behind. It was nearly empty; but the small remaining quantity would be just enough to prevent a tragedy.

To be continued...


	8. The Ultimatum Part 2

Gaster felt a spike of true power flow in his veins and brain. Long ago, when he had just finished settling down on the isle, he had built an enormous machine, powered by magical lightning, and had used it to create the never-ending storm raging around his sanctuary. It was situated in the highest room of his home.

And now that he had retrieved his long lost youth, he would harness all the energy accumulated by his machine over the years. And what would he do with this newly found power? Well, impose himself as a god, of course! He would first get rid of those infidels marching toward his house, including this filthy Alphys, and then, then… He would create more monsters, only more submissive this time. He would not repeat his error. And after this? He would destroy the tempest and reclaim back the world that rejected him. Maybe conquer a city or two, maybe more, who could know? Maybe the entire world. If he had survived the harvest once, he could do it twice, thrice or more!  
He was lost in his dreams of glory when he heard little footsteps approaching him. He turned his melted face toward the noise only to see little Alphys, walking timidly in his direction. When she saw his face, she let out a scream of terror, horrified by the monstrosity he had become. What a pitiful creature, Gaster thought.

She then seemed to calm a little and started to babble some apologies, but she stuttered so much he could not understand her properly. Bothered and annoyed by her blatant and late excuses, he shouted "Shut your mouth, you little vile traitor!" She instantly stopped her failing attempt to regain his broken faith in her. Of course, he did not believe this brat trying desperately to distract him. The biggest advantage of his new abilities was the fact that he now had his senses exacerbated. And he knew very well about the little skeleton hiding in the shadows of the rooms, sneaking and lurking from behind in order to stab him in the back. What a perfect pair of buffoons. He waited a couple of seconds, letting the skeleton approach him, and then, in a flash, he turned around, faced Sans and projected a spectacular lightning bolt toward him, hitting him greatly. As his body hit the floor, Alphys could see his left arm simply… disintegrate. He dropped the syringe he was holding and seemed to lose consciousness. Gaster let a demonic laughter explode from his mouth as thunder reverberated around him.

"You FOOLS! Did you really expect this little miserable plan of yours could possibly work? You really are idio-" His words were stopped by a small, yet sharp pain on his back. Could it be?  
In horror, he noticed the syringe dropped by the skeleton- it was empty. He turned toward Alphys and saw her holding the extractor. She had taken advantage of the distraction Sans had created in order to inject the determination left from the extraction. It was a rather small amount, but it was just enough to provoke a catastrophe.

"W-well, you m-made a-a huge m-mistake. You made me smart." Alphys said.

At the same moment, Gaster felt his body burning from inside yet another time. However, the pain he was now feeling proved to be much more tremendous and insufferable than the previous one. He felt like he was being destroyed internally. The last thing he could ever see was his vision slowly being stained by a vivid red before an impenetrable darkness replaced it.

The explosion that followed projected Alphys against the wall. The shock made her faint, but before she blacked out, she felt something terribly odd: a spark of energy pass through her body. When she awoke, she saw Sans, slowly trying to get up. With a missing limb, it proved to be highly difficult. She got up herself and went to help him. Without a work, she teared apart some tissue from her dress and started to apply it as a temporary bandage on the wound created by the loss of his arm. She felt awful; never had she expected to let her new friend to approach death so easily and carelessly. His eyes looked empty and he simply stared in front of him without truly seeing anything. It would be hard to get through this, but, most importantly, they were alive.

"So… what's next?" He asked.  
Alphys didn't know.  
"W-well…"

She stared at the machine Gaster had tried to harness magical energy from. It was shattered, in pieces. Without it, it was now impossible to stop the never-ending storm. They were truly stuck on the isle.  
However, when Alphys looked around, she could not find the madman's body. Sans also noticed it.  
They started to worry.

"Is he… Is he really dead?"  
"I-I don't kn-know" Alphys stuttered.  
They looked at the broken machine. The room was now plunged into an eerie darkness.  
"Wh-what are we g-gonna do?" She asked.  
"Me? Nothing. I can't let my brother see me like this. I will leave, maybe find a hideout in the forest… And you? Well, from how I see it, the other monsters will need guidance. They won't be able to bear the fact that we're all stuck in here forever. You said you were smart, didn't you? Well, it's time to use your knowledge. Help them rebuild that machine, and get us all out of here. If you really want to make it up for your mistakes, that's what you should do. Oh and, please do me a favor. Never tell my brother what truly happened in here."

Sans then started to walk away. Afraid of being alone once more, Alphys tried to grab him, so he would not leave her behind. But as she reached him he simply… vanished. And that's how she understood: the explosion provoked by the machine, the spike of energy… The magic it contained was now into their bodies.

Not long after those events, Alphys was found by the other monsters. They had assisted to the explosion from outside. When they met her, all were confused by her presence and Gaster's absence. At first, they thought she was a human, but she managed to explain what had happened, while carefully ignoring to mention any connection with the murders. This night, everything on the island changed. Asgore and his wife Toriel, who had led the mob along with other monsters, were chosen as the new leaders. Undyne, who had proved herself to be one the most competent among those who had followed their lead, was chosen to be the chief of the newly permanent army. And Alphys? She installed herself in the lab again, charged by the King and Queen to educate the people, help construct modern infrastructures and rebuild the machine. It would not be a real problem; but turning it back on would take a great amount of power. And human souls could easily provide the energy required. And from that day forward, the monsters of the Isle declared a permanent war on humans. None of them would ever be spared.

As for Sans? No one ever heard of him again. He simply hid in the woods, the same way Alphys buried her secrets and her shame.


	9. UnderIsle Shorts: Napstablook

The magic released upon the Isle made odd changes to its appearance. Of course, the never-ending storm was still alive and raging around it, hiding the brightness of the sun behind a veil of menacing clouds, plunging the island into a nearly constant obscurity. But since the explosion of Gaster's machine, not only had the monsters developed abilities and built decent infrastructures, the whole environment had gone through an incredible transformation: little will-o-wisps were casually flying around the forest and the long dead trees and vegetation had developed strange-looking leaves. Those leaves had the same shape as regular ones although the color was not a deep green, but a shining bright blue. They were transparent and if you looked closely, you could happen to see little lighting lines pass through them.

Obviously, the monsters were, at first, frightened by such a fast and drastic change, but over the months, all were used to the island's new appearance. However, amongst all these metamorphoses, there was one more peculiar than the others. It was the sudden apparition of four little ghosts roaming and wandering around the island. The monsters were surprised to see them suddenly appear from nowhere, but they proved to be harmless and friendly, whence valuables relationships were formed with them. Alphys explained the existence of these new-comers as the manifestation of long lost souls, trapped on the island, but now visible with the help of the magic they had most surely absorbed.

Each of the ghosts had its own personality, but one of them was shier than the others and mostly preferred the loneliness it could find in the calming blue lights of nature. Every time one of the monsters would try to approach it, it would vanish within the trees, leaving behind only the sound of the wind as a proof of its existence. One of the other ghosts was asked many times why its fellow acted such a way. It only answered "Napstablook rarely likes the company of the living. They make too much noise." Apparently, the shy little spirit could hear the monsters' pumping hearts, the blood moving through their veins and their lungs filling with air, reminding him of his cursed existence and his lost life. Once the people of the Isle learned about its issue, they let it be.

Although, even if Napstablook was far from being a threat, his behaviour made it appear like a constant bad omen, always circling around the towns without truly approaching them. Some said you could hear the little phantom, at night, singing a lullaby in the dark, giving the woods an eerie atmosphere.


	10. UnderIsle Shorts: Humans and Monsters

Fear and hatred were once foreign feelings for monsters. But after the tragedy, they became the default sentiments felt towards humanity. And without anyone to tell them otherwise, the citizens of the Isle couldn't turn down this natural instinct of fright every creature on Earth seems to behold towards men. And the recent life-changing circumstances the monsters had been through could only worsen their already low opinion of humans. Alphys' knowledge of their creator-his way of life, his maniac mind and his lack of ethic- soon convinced the newly chosen leaders of the Isle to impose a new, strict policy: every human that would happen to wander their territory would be executed, and harvested.

For the machine was the only thing capable to contain the never-ending storm. Without its power, not only was the tempest now impossible to wipe out, but it became uncontrollable. During the first weeks, the difference was impossible to notice, but as the months went on, lightning struck buildings more than often, the waves beating the shore and the beaches strengthened, and raining days caused violent floods. Needless to say, although the storm protected the monsters from the outside world and its perils, its lack of containment and unpredictable behaviour made it a notable hazard for them as well.

It became a priority for the people of the Isle to shatter the typhoon raging over their heads restlessly. They thought of using every monsters' newly gained magic abilities in order to end it themselves, but the machine's power was now fractioned, and only as a whole could it accomplish this task. And thus it was decided that not only humans were now enemies of their fragile nation, but also their hope of survival. Whence their collective decision to harvest them as soon as they'd set foot on the Isle.

After several months, the first occasion to execute the law presented itself; a young man washed ashore after the sink of his boat. Not long after was he spotted, captured and slaughtered. The poor lad never had the time to foresee the attack before it struck him. And sooner than later, his body was brought to the lab and Alphys was asked to harvest him. With a point of disgust and regret, she followed her late mentor's teachings and later filled her syringe with a bright liquid. She then placed it in a hermetic container that she stored away. She didn't enjoy executing that procedure, but her instinct of survival along with everyone's expectations pushed her to commit the act despite her apprehensions.

That first victory was celebrated by the monsters, and the festivities lasted three days. It filled them with the hope of seeing the sun in a near future. It took several years for them to accumulate up to six human souls. But despair had also started to spread among them. For every time they acquired a new human soul, it turned out to not be efficient enough; one soul, two, three, four… Even six human souls didn't bear enough power to destroy the raging storm… As time went on and on, it proved to grow only more violent. And for years, no human ever came across the Isle, filling everyone's hearts with sorrow and discouragement at the idea of being trapped in the eternal grasp of the tempest, all of it aggravated by the departure of the Queen, whom could not bear to assist her people's violence towards humans. She had, after all, welcomed one of them into her home. Hence established herself alone in the woods, still allowing visitors while being reclusive.

After the times of hope and renewal, the island plunged into its darkest era.


	11. UnderIsle Shorts: The Waterfall Lake

The Isle of the monsters was not simply merely of dark silent woods inhabited by blue wisps; its geography was quite fascinating. Indeed, its limit were mainly constituted of rocky shores and some sandy beaches, but within its center once was a lake surrounded by three waterfalls. By the past, it used to be the most peaceful of the area. The sound of the falling water, the sight of fishes calmly swimming and the animals quietly resting on the rocks once warmed by the sun were a most beautiful scenery worthy of the serenity it could install within one's mind. However, man's hand can never pass through nature without leaving its marks behind. And thus, once Gaster's machine broke, as it is now known, magic broke through the Isle and found its place within the life it hosted.

Although, even if a great part of this energy went directly into the monsters' soul and nature itself, its remains floated in the air and accumulated into specific parts of the island. One of them was the Waterfall Lake. At first, the changes were merely noticeable, but as time went by, the monsters assisted to a most strange event: droplets of water started to suddenly rise and float over the ground as if an invisible force had told nature gravity was now in the past. And it grew exponentially. Over the weeks since the first sightings of flying water had been reported, it started to affect larger quantities of liquid, the fauna, the flora and even the rocks. And one day, as friends were sitting by the lake, watching its odd transformation, they assisted to its final metamorphose.

It came suddenly; the ground shook, the birds flew away, screeching in fright, and the world stopped making sense, at least, for those nearby the Waterfall Lake. All the water it contained suddenly rose and flew, up and up, without seeming to ever stop its outrage to physics' laws. The monsters that assisted to the scene could only watch with fright as the lake ascended, bringing up with it some parts of the ground on which trees had firmly grown, even the Waterfalls partly turned upside down and elevated their higher points. As for the monsters assisting to this chaotic spectacle? They were caught within gravity's fall and followed up with nature's rebel pieces. They shouted and screamed for help, but as aid arrived, the lake and its surrounding had stopped to elevate and was now silently floating about fifteen meters over the ground. All the life caught up within the supernatural grasp seemed to be fine and safe, although stuck within this area where the world had gone eccentric. And the monsters tried to bring down their friends, but each time they would slowly float back up to the lake. Fortunately, even if these could not be brought down, others joined them, led by Undyne's solidarity, and went up so their companions would never be alone, floating and deriving around the floating lake.


	12. UnderIsle Shorts: Flowey

Even with six souls, they could not wipe out the storm. Even with such power, they could not escape. And it had been a long time since the last human ventured on the Isle. The endless wait was slowly killing everyone's hopes, everyone's dreams. Alphys watched as her kind simply let go of the thought of being once free and it filled her with despair. She couldn't do much but mourn with them until a miracle happened. She sometimes took long walks around the island and its eccentric landscapes in order to calm her mind. Although she used to meticulously avoid the human and Asriel's grave, one day she felt the need to face the consequences of her cowardice face to face. And so, one day, as the world around her was gradually accepting its fate, she decided to accept what had happened and went to the tomb where the children peacefully rested.

It felt like a sanctuary. The grave had been installed in a quiet grove, not far from the capital. Trees surrounded the place and their branches were interweaving with each other as to hug this sacred retreat that is death. A fading blue light emanated from the vegetation and provided just enough darkness to awake one's desire to lay and sleep the day away. Alphys penetrated into this calming retreat and stood before the grave, silently sobbing. But contrary as what she thought, all the guilt had vanished once she dared to stare at the sepulcher. All that was left was a deep sorrow combined to an ounce of regret and anger. She bowed her head down and looked at the rug of flowers growing around the grave like loyal guardians. It is at this moment she had an idea. She could not live in the past anymore and she needed to move forward. Just as everyone else on the Isle. And if the souls weren't enough to wipe out the storm, she would create something that could; she would create her own monster.

Delicately, she unearthed one of the flowers-it was colored with a deep night blue pigment, with thorns on its stem- and brought it back to her laboratory. Gaster had created the monsters through pain and suffering, but she would not make the same mistake as her predecessor. Daily, she would inject a little dose of determination into the flower in order to conceive a soulless yet powerful being. Maybe, if she dosed it right, it would transform into a submissive thing that she could use it to destroy the storm. Under their liquid state, souls did not bear as much power as when they were acting through a body, but what would happen if she combined a little of the six souls within an empty vessel? The question taunted her mind just enough to push her to the act.

Darkness. Before becoming sentient, that's all he felt. All he saw. A pure void deprived of any spark of light. Was it all death had to offer? Boredom through eternal slumber? He felt as if the world had betrayed his existence. But, suddenly, he felt a grasp pulling him down and he felt as if he was falling. It did not last long, but the experience remained highly frightening. And then, he woke up. Who he was, _what_ he was, had changed, or had it? He could not remember. What had happened? Confusion fell upon him. Why was he there? And then, it came back, it hit him like a train. He was betrayed and had suffered greatly. And now, it was time for pay back.

Alphys woke up early. She was excited to see the result of the latest injection. She felt as if this time, she'd actually succeeded to make a step forward into her experiment. But, as she entered the room where she had left the flower, she gasped in horror.

The flower was gone.


	13. Dear Child, Why so Pale?

Cold, frigid, freezing. Those words were merely sufficient to describe the chilling pain the child felt upon debating in the strong, arctic-like water. She felt the waves whip her in a comparable way of multiple knives slowly cutting through her skin, desperately trying to reach for her little heart. The girl had not realised how painful and cruel this ocean would treat its invaders. She felt as if the sea had swallowed her the same way a little, innocent bug would venture on a spider web and eventually stay stuck. The more she would fight against the current's strength, the more she could feel its invisible hands pulling her effortlessly towards the bottom, towards the spider's den. As her last forces left her alone in this tragic situation, she watched, as she slowly drowned, the sun shining endlessly over this merciless world, without a mere thought of sympathy for mother nature's poor victims. And then, her head hit a rock, plunging her into the void.

It wasn't the soft texture of the sand nor the song of the seagulls that were the most surprising to her, no, it was the fact she could still wake up. Death had apparently spared her. Was she glad to still be breathing? To fill her lungs with air again? Indeed. But, at the same time, the silent burn she experienced that was waging through her body upon taking a deep breath came as an humiliation; she had lost her battle for survival, and fate, probably amused by her vain attempt to live, had apparently decided to spare her out of pity.

It was mostly frustrating to have been through this experience, but at least, she lived. She spent the first minutes of this new day coughing and spitting out the salty water still infecting her frail body. Once it was done, she simply fell back to sleep on the sand, without caring about this oddly little world she would then roam. After this unplanned yet necessary rest, the girl awoke and stood up. Her skin was covered in superficial cuts, her brown hair reeked of fish, her shorts, T-shirt and vest were torn and wet, her life vest, missing, and her boots were making a squishing, unpleasant sound as she walked. It was the most peculiar décor she had come across: on one side, the beach encountered a high, black and rocky environment, next to a strange forest where the leaves were shinning in a calm blue and little balls of light flew around. As for the side of the beach plunging back into the sea, furthermore, she could glance at a surreal yet undeniable event taking place in front of her. It was a storm, bigger than any she had ever seen. Its clouds and wind were savagely raging around any visible land and thunder could frequently be seen, striking through the sky. With such an eerie spectacle, she immediately felt uneasy about this new, unknown location.

But, obviously, she could not possibly hope to get any help for her wounds and her hunger by staying on an empty beach. And so, she filled herself with courage and determination and entered the weird woods.

As she walked, the child observed this unique nature living around her. The leaves' glow offered a calming light soothing her from the past fear of drowning and, at the same time, providing her enough visibility to evolve between the trees. But while she walked on the grey and blue grass, she felt the odd sensation of being… watched. Maybe someone was near and saw her? She shouted, hoping someone would hear her cry for help. But nobody came.

She thought for a moment that this now gone feeling had only been a product of her imagination. And then, as she had convinced herself of this possibility, a dark, dense and black fog started forming around her. She could not move and the fear came back. She screamed once more, but it only came out like a screech from the bottom of her throat. She thought death had come back for her, realizing its mistake upon letting her escape from its grasp. As she stood, paralyzed by fright, she saw a horrible face form and appear within the fog. And to her horror, it started talking.

"My, my, little child, what a marvelous surprise! You weren't expected! Now tell, dear girl, what is your name?" It said with a terrifying grin.

"I….. I'm Frisk." She said with a trembling voice.

It smiled with the most frightening mouth in existence.

"Frisk! What a beautiful name! Let me introduce myself properly then." The abomination answered. "My name is Gaster. Welcome to my Isle. My, why are you so pale, child?"


	14. Run, Dearie

Frisk could only stare at the face that talked to her as if it were normal for such an atrocity to roam freely into the nature. The "head" before her seemed to be connected to a ghostly body merging with the cloud of darkness enveloping them. Its eyes were looking at her, as if they were attempting to peek into her soul while awaiting a response. Only, she could not think of a proper answer for this monstrosity born worthy of a child's nightmare.

-"Oh, dearie, why do you keep on shaking so much? I will not bite you." It said while bearing an atrocious smile.

As he spoke those words, an arm of shadows formed from the surrounding fog and reached out for her. To her horror, she could not move, and thus was not able to avoid its contact with her cheek. As she saw it approaching her face, she braced herself, expecting a feeling of cold goo upon its touch. However, surprisingly, it proved to be warm and agreeable, reminding her of the kind of affection a caring parent showed to its child.

The fear vanished and, even if the thing calling himself Gaster possessed a highly disturbing appearance, it was not hostile; it-or he, must she say-even seemed rather friendly after all.

She felt calm descending upon her and the knot in her stomach, which she did not even noticed before, faded away. To her own surprise, she feel to her knees, weeping and sniffing. All the tension she had just been through-her near death experience, waking up onto a weird island and the isolation-, all of it came back all at once, mixed with some relief to still be alive.

The shadowy arm petted her head gently, waiting for her sorrow to be appeased. When her tears slowed and rarefied, she raised her head and saw the thing, giving her a patient look.

-"Sir, wh-what is this place?" she asked between sobbing coughs.

Its eyes widened with joy, as she had told him the best gift one could expect.

-"This!" he said, extending his ghostly arms as to englobe their surroundings, "This, is my personal domain, and you, my dear are most welcome here!" His ghostly arms re-entered the fog. "It is an island I have found long time ago, and I have elected this little piece of paradise my home!"

Frisk looked around. The nearly constant obscurity and the odd looking nature of the woods was not exactly her definition of paradise. A sound echoed far from them.

Gaster heard it and his face became suddenly more serious.

-"But, my child, please be wary. On this Isle that was once mine now live dreadful creatures that will not spare your life. As a human, you represent a threat to them and they will come after you."

The sound echoed once more, closer. He turned his head towards its source.

-"How do you know? What are these creatures, Mister Gaster?" The girl asked, her voice full of anguish.

He looked back at her and approached his face to hers.

-"I know for I was once a human, just like you." He whispered.

Frisk's eyes widened of surprise. How could a human being turn into such an odd and etheric being?

-"But… What happened to you?!" The child replied, almost yelling.

Gaster's eyes were now full of fright.

-" _They_ did this to me! And they'll do the same to you if you don't run."

The girl gasped of terror. What were those monsters capable of?

As she asked herself this question, she noticed that the fog had started to vanish, just as Gaster. She panicked and tried to reach for him. Her hand passed right through his fleshless body.

-"I am afraid, dearie, that I can no longer uphold this form. I am out of force. I will disappear in a moment." He said.

-"No! You can't leave me alone here! Don't die, please!" She cried out.

-"Oh, child, I will not die, don't you worry about this. But, if you don't run and hide, _you_ are the one who will perish tonight."

And without further due, he turned into air and left her alone, crying in the woods. At first, the shock of being lonely so suddenly left her in awe, kneeling in the dark grass. She had not yet processed what he had just said. _If you don't run and hide, you are the one who will perish tonight._ Were the monsters truly going to kill and turn her into a fog of darkness?

And, as to answer her interrogation, a prickly vine tried to hit her. Fortunately, she avoided it just in time and it only left a mere scratch on her cheek. She looked back to the source of the vine and saw a flower. It was by far the strangest she had ever seen; its stem was covered in spikes and its deep blue petals were emanating a little sifted light. But the most unusual detail about the flower was not its colors nor its spikes, but the face it bared.

A nightmarish laughter came out of the flower's mouth, and, as soon as she heard it, Frisk got up on her feet and ran. She knew that if that evil looking plant caught her, she'd never live to see the sun again.


	15. The Eyes of a Killer

She did not know which was worse; was it the crippling pain in her sore legs, the burn of the air running through her lungs, or the fear that the slightest misstep would most surely ring the knell of her life?

Quite frankly, she was too focused on finding a way to flee from the flower chasing her to let her mind wonder off on the topic. But where could she possibly go? The woods were dark and she could barely see the path she had taken in her panic. Every step was a question of life and death. She could not allow a single mistake in her race, otherwise Gaster's good advice would have been given in vain. And so, she simply ran, with the sole hope of either falling on a loophole or being lucky enough to experience a painless death if it ended up being her destiny. But her survival instincts kept her going. After all, she had escaped the mighty Grimm reaper's scythe once, she could do it twice, she thought. She should not have let herself being distracted by useless wonderings, though.

Her attention had slithered away just enough so that she didn't notice in time the vine about to strike her in the stomach and thus, couldn't avoid it. It felt as if all of the air in her body had been chased all at once. She then fell on the ground without a scream. At first, she could have blacked a moment, she wasn't sure, but when the confusion and the shock left, she found out she couldn't move anymore. Vines were firmly twisted around her arms, legs and hip, preventing her from getting up and running away again. She tried to wiggle and struggle in order to disentangle the vines imprisoning her, but as she did, they would simply tighten even more and tiny thorns would pierce her skin, making her scream out of pain. And her pointless attempts were a true source of hilarity for the little yet terrifying flower, which started to laugh in the most insane and eerie way.

Frisk then felt the vines start to lift her up in the air and redress her so she could see her attacker. Its eyes were gleaming with a brightness worthy of a relentless killer. She expected the laughter from it, as she heard it before, but not a capability of talking in a mostly coherent manner.

-"Aww look at this pathetic little thing. You probably are the most inoffensive human I've ever preyed on" It said before grinning again.

With the bit of breath she had recovered, Frisk said:

-"Why are you doing this to me?"

-"Hehehe don't you know? In here, for humans, it's kill or BE killed. And trust me, I'll make sure to kill you _very_ slowly. Hehehe!"

The vines tightened even more as the flower stopped talking and their thorns started to grow even more into her skin. Other vines lifted from the ground and aimed for her. One scratched her face over the previous cut that was already there and another was aiming for where her heart was. She understood it was the end. On second thought, maybe drowning would have been a better way to leave this world. She braced herself for the darkness awaiting her, but was surprised to see a bright light suddenly filling her surroundings.

It was so blinding that all she could do was close her eyes and listen. It went fast, though. All she heard was-she supposed-the hissing flower and the vines burning. Their grasp finally loosened and she fell back on the ground, still trembling and dazzled. The fear and the pain paralysed her and cowered into a foetal position. Her consciousness was slipping away from her again.

She didn't recall properly what happened next. Only small sensations were left in her memory. The perception of someone-or something-grabbing her gently and lifting her from the ground. It felt warm and soft. Had a beast swallowed her whole? She wished it was the case, for a moment. Maybe then she'd be safe. As her helper carried her around, she hastily fell asleep. Her face was wet. Was it tears, or blood? Probably both.


	16. Toriel

For an unknown period of time, Frisk laid down into what felt like a warm envelope. Could it be a monster's mouth, or worse, its stomach? It was soft and smooth, so much that her exhausted body and mind happily embraced their new condition, even if it meant never waking up. There was no point in worrying. Right now, all she wished was to rest, and forget, if that were possible. From one moment to another, her arms felt as if they were still stuck within the flower's vines. Had it come back for her? Her mind constantly oscillated between reality and her dreams, without even being able to tell when she was truly awake.

However, after a while, she started to identify what was around her. The monster's mouth was nothing but a bed, and its sheets were so warm she did not wish to take them off. She took her glance at her arms, expecting them to still be imprisoned by the flower's grasp, but she found them wrapped into well-crafted bandages. Her vest was gone and her sweatshirt's sleeves were up. The first time she truly awoke, that's all she could notice before drowsing off again. The second time, she noticed the colors of the cover sheet-white with a pink pattern-and how close she was to the window. Outside, everything seemed dark, although small blue lights sometimes shone through, illumining the bedroom she was in. There was a drawer in front of the bed, over which hang a mirror with a golden frame. On the drawer laid several objects going from a hairbrush to a delicate perfume bottle. There were two night tables taking place each side of the bed. On one was a clock, whose ticking was regular and agreeable. It was constant, and therefore, gave her a sentiment of stability. On the other rested a pot of flowers. They looked like the one that had attacked her, but, to her relief, they were still and faceless. She fell back to sleep hoping they would not wake up while she was vulnerable. The third time she opened her eyes, it was because a sweet smell had tickled her nose. It smelled like pie. Someone was humming a nice melody somewhere else in the house. It sounded like a woman. Frisk swore that if she closed her eyes, she'd feel like home, a new sentiment for her.

However, she was feeling better this time and decided to try and stand up. With a little effort and the support the furniture could furnish, she managed to stay balanced on her feet. It was cold outside the bed, especially without her vest. She noticed her boots were next to the door, but ignored them as she exited the room. On the other side of the door was a corridor. Two other doors appeared on the walls and stairs lead to the floor below. She hesitated, but after a moment of reflection, she opted to go downstairs, where the pie smell originated from. Her hunger proved stronger than her curiosity.

Once she got to the bottom, she ended up in what appeared to be a living room. Comfy couches were organized around a cozy fire. One reading chair was reposing in front to it and a well-furnished bookshelf was placed next to the fireplace. In one of the walls was carved an arch leading to what seemed to be a kitchen. There was a rectangular table surrounded by four chairs. But mostly, on the table rested a beautiful pie covered with cream. Some steam elevated from it, showing how warm it still was. Whoever had made it possessed excellent cooking skills. Tempted by the scent and the golden surface of the sweet, Frisk approached and dipped a finger in the cream. She tasted it. It was incredibly sugary and delicious. If a voice hadn't talked to her, she wouldn't have had the restraint to keep herself from eating it whole bare handed.

-"Oh! You are awake! Dear child, you must be famished!"

Frisk turned her head and ended up face to face with a tall and hairy monster. Its ears were long and fell on each side of its head. It appeared to be a female since her voice sounded lady-like and, even if at first the child got scared, her soft traits and calmness chased away the fright. The monster lady kneeled in front of her and said:

-"Please do not be afraid small one, my name is Toriel and you've been under my care for several days now. Worry not, I promise I won't harm you. Now, would you like some pie?"


	17. An Uncanny Tale

Happiness can be a difficult concept to grasp, for it takes various forms in the eyes of every individual able to feel such a thing. For some, it will take the form of fame, fortune or love. Others will find it in loneliness, rainy days and even pure silence. But for little Frisk, happiness and joy manifested themselves as the nice smell of a warm home and the feeling of safety after an endless race. Not to be left out was, of course, the satisfaction of an appeased hunger. As she ate the last of her third pie slice, she took a glance at her new protector. She was sitting next to her, watching her with a tender smile and gentle eyes. Her fur, her large hanging ears and her slow breath combined to her calm expression made the child feel more at ease in this strange place she was now stuck into.

-"Well my dear, would you like another slice?" Her protector asked, almost hesitant faced to the girl's fierce hunger.

Frisk shook her head as to say no.

She finished her plate and took a last sip of milk. A feeling of contentment filled her. Now that she was fully satiated, she wished to go back to her bed, but…

-"Miss Toriel, tell me, what is this place? All I have seen so far were strange plants and scary monsters… One of them even tried to kill me! Why are they doing this? Why do they hate me? What are they? And, I don't mean to be rude, but… What are you?"

Frisk bit her tongue after asking. She felt bad and ashamed to be so direct, but she desperately needed to know. Toriel, at first attentive to her protégé's first words since her awakening, now looked saddened and hurt. Her happy eyes turned wet and her head tilted to her left side. Her smile soon vanished.

-Miss Toriel?"

Without a word, she stood up and walked to the window facing the table. As she glanced outside, she said:

-"It's ok my child, I understand. I suppose it must be confusing for you to roam this land."

She turned around, facing the girl again. Her smile was back, but it was tainted with what appeared to be nostalgia mixed with an ounce of… grief?

-"I will tell you everything you desire to know, but first, tell me, how did you get here? And please, could you tell me your name?"

Frisk looked at her empty plate. She did not wish to speak of the past, but it appeared she had no choice. She decided to be brief.

-"My name is Frisk. I'm from a little coastal village and I… uh… always wanted to leave and see the world… So I stole an old boat a week or two ago. But… It was broken and I lost control of it. I ended up in a storm and, well, I don't really remember what happened next. I guess it sank. Next thing I can recall, I was on a beach. I tried to find help in the forest, but, I got attacked… I suppose you saved me back there, didn't you?"

Toriel nodded.

-"I did." She said while taking away the dirty dishes and putting them in a large sink. She then stared back at Frisk before sitting at the table again.

-"Well, Frisk, I would like you to know that I'm happy to meet you, although I wish it was under better circumstances. My dear, the story I'm going to tell you will seem highly farfetched, but after what you've seen, I assume you probably won't see this tale as false."

She sighed.

-"We call ourselves monsters, even though there could be a better name for our people, we decided to stick with this one. Long ago, this island was nothing more than a normal place filled with ordinary wildlife. However, one day, a man came here and installed himself. It could have ended up into a story about an old hermit finishing quietly his days alone and at peace, but… The man was sick. He had no heart and felt no love, only hatred mixed with curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. A lack of compassion mixed with an endless hunger for discoveries can turn into a real disaster. And thus it pushed him to commit atrocities. And with his mentally ill brain he…"

Toriel looked down.

-"He created us."

Frisk's jaw dropped. She had never heard of such a thing being possible.

-"At first, we did not know about him. He stayed hidden and watched over us. But, one day, he took away something very dear to us. And we retaliated."

-"What happened to the man?"

-"He died of his own cupidity and search for power. We did not even have the time to fight him. After his disappearance, we took his knowledge he had so much protected and fructified to establish a better foundation for our young civilization."

-"But… I don't understand. What does this have anything to do with _me_? Why try to hurt me?"

Toriel took a severe face.

-"Because of this man's folly, all humans to enter the Isle are now considered to be enemies. Not only are they capable of being atrocious to other living beings, we need their souls."

-"What for?" Frisk asked.

-"There is a storm the man created that surrounds the Isle. And it's only growing stronger. We want to destroy it, so we will be free to leave, but also free from its threat of destroying our homes."

-"Then, if you need human souls so badly… why did you spare me?" The girl asked, scared by the answer Toriel could give.

-"Because, dear child, I do not kill innocents."

-"But… Aren't you going to be in trouble because of me?"

-"Oh! Most probably."


	18. An Old Friend

Right. Left. Right. Frisk couldn't find the right position while lying in bed. Left. Her thoughts were swarming into her head and even though the room was perfectly quiet, her skull trembled with a din of concerns. Right. It had been two days since she had heard Toriel's story of the Isle. Ever since, she had been forbidden to go outside, by fear one of the other monsters saw her. Her protector also kept the blinds closed almost constantly, plunging the house into the dark. Left. Guilt pressured over the child. A constant dread over the idea of putting Toriel in danger filled her fragile heart. After all the generosity she had offered her, could she really afford to see her get hurt? Frisk kept moving and turning, wondering what she could do to overcome this dilemma. Right.

It then sparked clearly in her mind. She couldn't stay. Left. Toriel was in the room next to hers, probably fast asleep. Frisk had her chance. If she left now, in the middle of the night, she could have a chance to find shelter elsewhere, before the other monsters woke up.

She sat in the comfy bed and looked around the room. Her vest was hanging on the door handle, brilliantly patched by Toriel's great sewing skills. She stood out of the warm sheets and carefully started to head over to the door. She grabbed her vest and exited the room after giving it a look of regret. While walking down the corridor, she noticed a light coming out of Toriel's room. Was she still awake? Frisk slowly approached the stairs, while making sure her steps didn't make the floor cracked under her feet. When she arrived in front of her protector's room, she took a glance inside. Toriel was asleep into an oversized bed, a book resting on her chest and a pair of glasses pending at the tip of her nose. She had, obviously, drowsed off while reading. Which was good. Frisk didn't want her to be awake while she left. She didn't excel at saying goodbye.

She went down the stairs and headed to the kitchen. There, she found the big sling bag Toriel used to carry her groceries and started to store some food into it: some bread, dry meat, a bit of cheese and a good assortment of weak-looking fruits and vegetables. After she was done packing food, she found her boots in the entrance and walked to the front door. But, as her hand approached the handle, she hesitated. Toriel had only been good to her. Leaving like a thief in the night felt simply and plainly wrong. She went to the living room and fond some paper and a pencil. She wrote a note for the monster lady to find and hoped she would understand her decision.

She left the note on the dining room's table before passing through the door and leaving for good.

The woods were incredibly darker during the night than they were during the day. Frisk could barely see and guided her movements mostly by relying on the faint light of some fireflies and nightly flora. She should have thought of bringing a lantern with her. What if the killing flower found her again?

She tripped on every root and blenched at every noise. The ominous threat of being killed by an invisible enemy filled her heart with dread as she progressively made her way through the weird forest.

But as she thought it couldn't get worse, the few lights around her started fading, one after the other. By fear of being vulnerable into a pitch black darkness, she prepared herself to run and find a hiding place, but a familiar voice calmed her down.

-"Well, dearie, it appears you escaped the filthy creature. How lucky!"

In front of her, a face appeared from a dense fog of shadows. Gaster.

-"Oh sir! I'm so glad to see you again! I was so afraid!"

He smiled.

-"My, look at this place, how dark it can get here!"

As he spoke those words, two shadowy arms formed from the fog and each their joined together. And before Frisk's dumbfounded eyes, an orb of green light appeared from Gaster's hands. -"Ah! This is much better, don't you agree, dear? Now, let's talk about how we can get you out of this dreaded hellhole." 


	19. The Blue Eyed Foe

_Now, let's talk about how we can get you out of this dreaded hellhole._

Incomprehension marked her face and confusion filled her eyes. How could there be a way out? Was such a thing as escaping a possible outcome of her situation?

-"But sir, how are we going to be able to flee from here? There is a storm surrounding the Isle! If we try to go, we will die!" Frisk said, worried by an eventual attempt to break free.

-"Dear, what do you know about this storm?" Gaster asked.

-"Well…" she started, "I know that it is eternal and that the monsters need human souls to destroy it. All of those who tried to cross it were later found dead on the shore, after drowning."

Gaster nodded.

-"All of this is correct child, but you forget one crucial fact."

-"Which is, sir?"

-"Even if my body isn't what it used to be, you and I are both humans."

-"And… What does that mean sir? What does it allow us to do?"

-"Well, I'm glad you asked… The monsters here are weak and cannot properly use the human souls. But I can. If you help me reach their location, I can take them and put an end to this storm. And then, we'll be able to leave."

-"But, sir, do you know where they are? And if so, how are we going to obtain them? They seem very precious to the monsters… Won't they be protecting them with gnarl? If you are to disappear suddenly like the last time we met, I'll be alone to face them!"

-"Oh don't you worry little one. I have everything planned."

As he pronounced these words, one of the shadowy hands disappeared to then rematerialize holding a heart-shaped pendant. It was made of dark stone and seemed utterly ordinary.

-"What is this?"

-"This, dearie, is an onyx. These stones are often used to contain errand souls and, when it is the case, provides protection to its owner. It is also believed to create a feeling of determination within oneself, but that is only true for a stone holding such a power in itself."

-"But… What are you going to use it for mister?"

-"This… Form," he said with disdain" is, as you saw, quite unstable and I maintain it with much difficulty. However, with this stone, I can store my soul within it, and you? You will carry it through the Isle. I will be somewhat asleep when I'll be within it, but, to some extent, I will be able to watch your surroundings, protect you and communicate small sentences through it. And if you wish for a long conversation, you'll only have to find a safe place so we won't be disturbed, then touch it and concentrate. Once it is done, I'll connect my mind to yours and we'll be able to talk."

-"Sir, I understand it is a good strategy, but nonetheless, I'm so scared!"

-"Don't you worry, I'll be by your side through every challenge. Be strong, child! And alas, we shall be free!"

And it is with this declaration that Gaster's cloud of darkness started to somehow be aspirated into the pendant. As his face vanished, the dark stone started to glow with a purple light, just strong enough to illuminate to a radius of about five meters around itself. When Frisk put it on, it started to twinkle at a rhythm matching her heartbeat.

 _Good. It is working._

Frisk got startled. A thought that wasn't hers and yet in her head had just passed through.

 _Don't be scared. It's only me._

Gaster was speaking to her in her own head. Suddenly, she felt less alone.

 _Now, I'll direct you. Go forward._

And Frisk started to march forward. The light coming out of the pendant was pleasant: it provided her with the ability to see the path she took and calmed her fright with the nice color it shone of. Everything seemed to be promising now: she had an ally in this unknown land to rely on, a journey to venture on and an objective to reach. And in the vast obscurity of the night, there was her pendant twinkling like a hope in a sea of despair. It was, to her, a beacon of victory against darkness.

There she was, walking with confidence through the woods, thinking she might have a chance if she followed Gaster's lead. How confident…

 _Stop._ Gaster said.

She stopped walking.

 _Do. Not. Move._

She was now scared. All her optimism faded away. She almost wished to talk and ask what was wrong, but Gaster answered it as if he had felt her fear.

 _Someone is watching you._ _ **HE**_ _is watching._

"He who?" She meant to ask. But within seconds, she saw him. Or, more precisely, she saw his eye. A bright blue eye, shining right in front of her. None of them moved, but then, the eye blinked and Gaster simply said:

 _Run._

She turned to her right and ran. At first, she thought her opponent hadn't followed her, but this idea faded as something came out of the ground, blocking her way. The things looked like… bones? She turned around only to come face to face with the blue eyed monster, standing in front of her. Without a word, he lifted an arm and more bones came out of the ground, making their way towards her. But, as they reached the girl, a faint screen of purple light stopped their progression. Her attacker flinched and she took advantage of his surprise to flee.

 _I saved you this once. I can't do this often, though._ Gaster said in her mind.

As she ran away, her protector gave her indications on when and how to act. He told her when to jump to either avoid bones or roots, when to bow down to avoid attacks from the top or when to turn. Every missed hit was accompanied with an object being blown out next to her. The bones were strong enough to break down trees and go through massive stones. She had to do her best to avoid pieces of wood flying around her or not to cough in the clouds of dust every blow created. She had done well so far, but, as luck would have it, when she reached the top of a hill, one of the bones hit her leg and she fell and tumbled down the hill.

When she stopped rolling down, she tried to get up on her feet, but was too dizzy to do so with ease and fell down again. As she got on her knees, she saw her foe approach and could now see him more clearly. He wore torn clothes and, to her surprise, possessed only one arm. The other seemed to have been cut off. He raised his single hand as if to strike a final attack, but stopped upon hearing a voice saying:

-"My! All this noise! Is somebody here?"

He looked over a far point behind Frisk with fright before putting down his arm and vanishing.


	20. The Blizzard

When the monster disappeared, Frisk turned her head towards where the voice had come from. At first, the rush of adrenaline she was into made it hard for her to focus on a single point for quite a bit, but then, not so far, she could discern two shadows in the distance; one, small and energetic, was trotting behind another, which was much more tall and imposing. Upon seeing them coming closer, the girl prepared herself to flee again, however, in a calming tone, Gaster said:

 _Wait._

So far, her protector had always been right about every outcome, and thus she chose to trust his advice and stayed where she stood. Eventually, the two monsters came across her and noticed her presence. But, in contrary to what she had thought, they did not attack her. Instead, they approached, both with a smile, and greeted her. Their kind attitude chased away Frisk's last remains of fear, for the tall monster was a skeleton just like the blue eyed one. On the other hand, the other monster was a little anthropomorphic blue lizard with no arms and a tail moving nervously. Its wool sweater had its two sleeves attached in its back. As for the skeleton, he wore a long, red scarf, mittens of the same color and a jacket of a deep blue. Their outfits seemed out of place at first, considering it was only the beginning of fall, but then, Frisk felt a wind of cold air pass around her and regretted she had no truly warm clothes. As she came out of her thoughts, she realized that the two monsters were looking at her as if awaiting a response to their greetings.

-"Huh… Hi!" she said, hoping they would be open to a conversation instead of a fight.

-"Greetings dear newcomer! My name is Papyrus, the Great and only ONE!" said the tall skeleton.

-"And I'm M.K.!" said the little lizard while its feet tapped the ground with excitement.

-"If I may ask," started Papyrus while looking at her with confusion, "what kind of monster are you? I've never seen anything like you before and I've been a sentry here for quite a while."

Frisk almost said out loud the word "human", but was saved in extremis by Gaster telling her:

 _Don't. They have no idea what a human is. Lie._

The child felt bad for what she was about to do. She felt another strike of cold wind as well, the harsh breeze acting as if it knew she was going to lie.

-"I'm Frisk and I-" she said.

-"You're a… Frisk? I've never heard of that before! That name is simply great! But not as great as I, the Wonderful Papyrus!"

Papyrus lifted her in his arms.

-"How come have I never heard of monsters like you! Oh I'm sure we are going to get along very well!" he said while holding her.

-"Yo! It's super cool!" said M.K. as he jumped around.

Frisk had to do her best in order to restrain herself from laughing. However, the thought of laughing was nice. It meant that for once she was allowed some happiness. And thus, she offered them a warm, honest smile.

 _Well… They clearly aren't the brightest ones, don't you think?_

Gaster might've had a point, but Frisk found them kind and friendly nonetheless. When Papyrus put her down, she felt another chilling breeze striking her. However, this one was even more freezing than the previous blows and she started shaking. Papyrus and M.K. noticed it and the tall skeleton looked in the far horizon.

-"Hmm… We should head back home. The storm is at it again. We need to find a shelter. And you," he said as he turned toward the little monster, "should be sleeping at this time of the night. Onward we go!"

Frisk didn't really understand what was happening at first. She hadn't noticed her surroundings before; down the hill was a vast open plain and ending with what appeared to be a dense and black wall. However, as she observed it, the wall became larger and taller, allowing her, as her eyes got used to the dark, to discern what was causing this abnormality. It was snow. A wall of snow, heading rapidly towards them.

 _Follow them. Now._

She ran behind the two joyful monsters and followed them towards a cave and reached it just in time. As they entered the cave, the blizzard hit, so fast that the shock provoked a sound so strong and deafening she had to cover her hears and she fell to her knees. Then, Papyrus and M.K. helped her up and lead her into the darkness of the cavern, away from the raging storm.


	21. Snowdin

To Frisk's surprise, the interior of the cave was warm. She had expected it to be freezing due to the strong wind and the snow raging outside of it, but as Papyrus and little M.K. lead her deeper, she found the atmosphere to be strangely humid. As they progressed along the tunnels, she understood why: before her appeared several large ponds of steaming water. These, as she remembered, were called thermal sources, and their presence warmed up the caverns they were progressing into. They made sure, however, to stay quiet while doing so; in the pleasant water were resting several monsters. Most of them seemed to be napping, and thus the little trio made its way without a noise, which reassured the human girl.

They then arrived to a tunnel from which emanated a faint orange light at its end. Her two new monster friends went through it and she followed them. At the end of the tunnel, she was amazed to see where the light came from. At the exit, the earth opened its mouth to give birth to a gigantic and profound hole, in the bottom of which seemed to circulate a lazy river of lava.

An unsteady bridge crossed the hole, and the two monsters joyfully started to walk on it, with some mysterious duty waiting them on the other side. Frisk followed again, but took a moment to look beneath her, amazed by that force of nature she never thought she'd one day see. She gazed upon the magnificent stream for so long that M.K. came up to her to see if she was fine. She answered that she was simply curious.

-"Oh! Well, you see, there's a lot of lava under the Isle, and Doctor Alphys helped putting in place a big machine that goes deep under the ground to take the heat and turn it into electricity! Man, it's so awesome!"

And then M.K. noticed that Papyrus had already reached the other side, so he left Frisk to her contemplation, running after his friend. The girl then left as well, not wanting to be alone among monsters that would show her no mercy.

On the other side of the bridge was an exit from the warm caverns, but, to her surprise, it didn't quite lead outside. Instead, they ended up in long and large made partly of glass and metal. There were doors at every ten meters, which all were entrances to houses, Papyrus told Frisk. The large windows on the walls allowed the girl to peek outside and catch a glance at the natural chaos. The blizzard was so strong, she could only see a cloud of white and snowflakes, all of which plunged into the night. Sometimes, she could barely spot the shadow of a tree or a rock, but each time, they faded away again, erased by the wind's wrath.

Papyrus then stopped in front of a door and entered it, M.K. staying close and inviting Frisk in. She went through the door and found behind it a cozy living room, but without Toriel's place's charm. There was no fireplace, nor smell of pies, but there was a large and comfortable looking couch placed in front of a low table on which laid several snow globes containing silly figurines.

-"Well, I guess you can sleep on the couch. Let me go get some sheets for you. And as for you," Papyrus said while looking at M.K. "go to bed. We've got a big day tomorrow!"

M.K. did as he was asked and went into another room, presumably his own. Papyrus left to another, but then came back with sheets that he gave their guest, just as promised. He was then off to sleep as well. Frisk installed herself into the large couch and prepared herself to sleep, but as she was starting to drowse, she remembered about Gaster and sat on the couch, seized the heart locket with her hand, closed her eyes and concentrated.

Before long, everything around her turned black and Gaster appeared. He smiled at her.

-"Ah! It is good to finally be able to talk normally!" he said.

-"Sir it's good to see you again! But I was wondering… What happened out there? How is there so much snow in fall?" the girl asked.

-"Remember the storm surrounding the Isle? Well, over the years, it grew so strong and unstable that it causes weather anomalies within the Isle itself. In this particular area, it mainly consists of terrible blizzards, but there are other oddities. In some places, there are strong electrical thunderstorms, in others, suffocating droughts or gravity disturbances. There is even a lake that floats!"

Frisk knew that these phenomenons were terrible to those who lived them, but couldn't help but feel impressed.

-"You were lucky, dear, to find those two naïve monsters to guide you here. It will make the task much easier!"

-"Where do we go next, sir?"

-"Well, first of all, you need sleep. In the morning, I'll guide you through this town, Snowdin, and we'll go to-"

He interrupted himself and looked over his shoulder.

-"Hmm, we've got company."

He then vanished and the room reappeared. In the dark, Frisk saw M.K. come out of his room and come to the couch. He climbed on it and sat in front of her.

-"Yo!" He started, whispering. "I can't sleep 'cause tomorrow, I'm going to the Waterfall lake! I'm gonna try and see Undyne fight! She's the coolest, I'm so excited! Man…you should totally tag along or you're gonna miss something!"

 _Say yes_ , Gaster told her.

-"Hum, yeah, sure!" she answered.

-"Great! See ya in the morning!" he said, before going back to bed.

Frisk laid on the couch, and as she closed her eyes, all she could hear was Gaster saying:

 _Well, this promises to be interesting._

She fell asleep.


	22. Microbioms

She had slept like a log. The dangers and wonders of the previous night had left her crippled with fatigue, which she only noticed once she woke up well rested. Frisk sat on the couch and stretched her arms while yawning and looked around. She was alone in the room. She felt tempted to summon Gaster once more, but changed her mind upon seeing M.K. racing out his own room's door and running towards her, all joyful and excited for another day of brand new adventures. He stopped in front of her and tapped his feet on the ground as he talked.

-"Yo! You're finally awake! Let's go outside! Papyrus packed us some snacks for the road!" he said.

Frisk, not desiring to stay too long within the walls of a town filled with monsters, gladly got up her feet and helped to attach a backpack around M.K.'s armless body. She then grabbed her coat and bag before leaving through the house's door with her new friend. She noticed the light coming from outside; it was faint, as it ever was during daytime on the strange Isle, but it was at its brightest, which probably meant it was around noon. Frisk feared to cross the path of many monsters since it was a pretty active part of the day, but she sighed of relief as she noticed almost no one roamed the dusty corridors and that the few who did barely paid attention to them. M.K.'s company might have been the reason for their dismissive behaviour towards her.

However, as they progressed through the halls of steel, she had the occasion to peek outside through the windows. Outside was like a charm; everywhere her eyes could reach, she only and ever saw snow covering every visible speck of space. And, to her surprise, the monsters were playing in the snow with enthusiasm. Old and young, small and big, all profited of this fairy-tale-like décor to amuse themselves. Some made sculptures of ice, others would slide on hills, and there were even snowball fights.

M.K. led Frisk through a door and they exited the city of metal to enter a realm of beauty and playfulness. She was agreeably surprised to find out that the weather wasn't as cold as she expected, but did not care about being cold or warm; all she wanted was to play in the snow and forget, at least for a moment, how wary she should be of her situation. They ran around joyfully and threw some snow at each other for a while before adventuring into the woods, alone. For a while, they simply looked around them. The blizzard they had escaped had been violent, but it had left in its trail the most peaceful and enchanted landscape she had ever gazed upon. The ground was covered with white and shone like a thousand diamonds, the trees were still bearing leaves and their autumnal colors were covered with thin sheets of ice. But mostly, it was profoundly silent. The strange absence of sounds, the one their footsteps made excepted, was hypnotizing. Some would have found it scary, but she felt more serene in a quiet and peaceful forest than she expected.

But, since nothing can last forever, this moment of silence was broken by M.K. seemingly restless need to talk.

-"We should be there in about an hour. Oh, I can't wait to show you the Waterfall Lake! It's simply AMAZING!"

Frisk had to admit it, the little monster's constant enthusiasm for everything around him was impressive.

-"Are there blizzards often around here?" Frisk asked.

-"At least once a week, that's why the town is made of steel corridors and caverns. But the one from last night was more… Intense, than usual. We were lucky to find you! Imagine if you had stayed under that snow storm over the night! You would have become an ice statue by morning!"

-"Yes, I was pretty lucky."

-"Makes me think, what were you doing outside last night? Papyrus was finishing his night shift and, well, I'm a partly nocturnal monster, that's why I go to bed pretty late. But I don't know your reason. Were you heading home?"

Frisk stopped and looked at her feet.

-"I… I don't really have a home. To be honest, I was lost and didn't know where to go."

The girl lifted her head to face M.K., expecting him to have a look of pity in his eyes. Usually, that's what she got for telling she didn't have a home… or parents. But, surprisingly, he simply gave her a big smile.

-"Yeah, me neither, I pretty much go anywhere I want to sleep. But Papyrus' place is where I go the most, 'cause he feels pretty lonely since his brother disappeared. And you know, being homeless isn't so bad around here, you get to go visit a lot of other monsters and they always help me with food or offering a place to stay. Like that, you get to make a lot of friends and even though my parents aren't here anymore… Every monster in Snowdin is my family now, and they'll always support me, I know it!"

And, as if this emotional and personal revelation had been benign to him, M.K. went on and continued his way. Frisk had to retain some tears. Yes, his story was sad, but he appeared to have been able to move on. She felt glad to have made a friend that could finally understand her and not take her in pity like everyone else.

As they continued through the woods, she noticed the air became much warmer and the snow stopped to exist, revealing large tropical-like flora.

Such a drastic change within small distances was it possible? she thought.

Apparently, it was, since the high trees and little herbs left their place for palm trees, fluorescent and enormous flowers, and wild southern plants she never thought she could have seen so up north.

And as she thought she couldn't come across any more marvel, she saw it; the Waterfall Lake.

It floated above the ground, and its waterfalls fell either towards another lake forming in a crater right beneath it or would flow almost horizontally towards any direction. She could see schools of fish swimming in the sky's water or rocks levitating around. Some of them even supported trees, whose roots were so long they touched the ground and dug inside of it. Many bridges had been built in order to connect floating parcels of ground. And she even spotted some monsters fishing on small boats. The waters were azury and crystalline, so much that she could see everything in them.

-"Ta-Da! Welcome to the Waterfall Lake!"

If she hadn't been in such a precarious situation on this Isle, she knew she would have stayed there forever, simply to discover all of its wonders.


	23. The Shining Threat

To be quite honest, she expected such beauty to leave her standing numbly right on the spot, but, to her surprise, she found herself running towards one of the rocks that floated slightly above the ground, followed closely by M.K. For a moment, Frisk forgot how reckless it was of her to expose herself like this. Luck had brought her so far, those on her path being either friendly due to their ignorance or dismissive because of the lack of interest she offered in comparison to other events. She could almost feel Gaster frown a little each time she lacked of caution and patience. But this time, she was truly willing to forget about him, about the potential death awaiting her, about that ominous «Undyne» M.K. kept praising upon. Her heart desired a single and unique thing: to see the Lake from a closer position.

She had always possessed a burning passion for the sea. The sailors that often passed through the inn of her village always offered the best stories. They talked of whales bigger than any boat in the world, sharks with teeth sharper than a sword and schools of fish so imposing they could put a great blue"s length to shame. Of course, with her head full of such wonderful tales, lakes were, to her, less impressive: the only ones she had ever known were small, dark watered and never offered any kind of surprise. All she had ever seen in them were small fishes, some turtles and algae. A curious and adventurous child such as her had quickly done the observations necessary to realize how boring they were. She had assumed all lakes and rivers were just as deprived of any interest.

However, this one in particular was beyond gorgeous and phenomenal due to its oddness, and thus, she felt an urge to approach it. She hopped on the rock she had be running towards and got up on the top of it. She then spotted another rock, this next one floating a little upper than the one she stood on. Without hesitating, she jumped over to the next. And the next. Again and again. Once in a while, she looked back to check upon her friend, which, despite his armless body, jumped around with confidence and agility. He was, apparently, not to be worried about.

They continued their ascension for about fifteen minutes before reaching the top. When they arrived to their destination, Frisk looked towards the ground. They were standing approximately 10 meters above the ground. They were standing next to some kind of shore, and if she hadn't been able to look down nor up, it would have looked exactly like a perfectly normal lake. Obviously, though, it had nothing normal.

She found it odd to see such a blue water flowing in the lake considering that the sky only wore white and grey.

The friends noticed a tall tree whose branches were so long and its trunk so bent that its leaves either slightly touched the mirror-like surface or were submerged in the water. They decided to go sit underneath it in order to take a snack while looking at the fishes swimming lazily near the shore. Frisk was truly enjoying the moment and was glad to be able to do so while taking cover under the tall tree.

That was until something odd caught her eye. It was faint at first, but within a minute, what had seemed to be a simple effect of light turned out to be some kind of translucent black cloud floating right above the Lake's surface. Frisk thought maybe it was smoke, but then it moved and... turned around?

The thing revealed two big, shiny eyes. They contained what looked like a miniature sky full of stars. The thing, she realized, was a ghost.

She started standing up slowly and carefully so she wouldn't scare it away, but as she did, her guardian"s voice warned her.

 _Stay down_ , he said.

And once more, he was right in his advice. She spotted between the leaves a tall female humanoid monster with blue skin and shiny armour. She stood, her back turned towards the two children silently hiding behind the curtain of branches. She noticed the little ghost had vanished the moment the warrior had appeared. The imposing figure looked around a little while Frisk kept herself from screaming and running. It was with a sigh of relief that the girl saw the tall monster leave. And next to her, M.K. was blooming.

-«It was her! It was her! Undyne was right in front of us!» he whispered.

Without any warning, he got up and ran after Undyne. She stood up, wishing to follow him despite the obvious danger, but Gaster opposed this decision.

 _Leave him be. We have more serious business to attend to._

She was not willing to lose track of her friend, but it was clear she could not afford to get killed, or worse, caught.


	24. And So We Meet Again

She watched M.K. run towards the direction Undyne had taken, and before he could realize it, Frisk went her own way. Whereas he was heading where more floating rocks lead to an upper basin of the lake, she decided to hide in a little cave near the tree they had previously installed themselves beneath. She sneaked out her head and watched her friend starting to climb the rocks before slowly noticing she wasn't following him. He looked around, confused, and called out her name. She saw his enthusiasm faint out of his face and the joy disappear from his eyes as he understood she had left him alone. He then continued his ascension, hopping on the next rocks with agility. She sat in the safety of the cave, closed her eyes and concentrated. She needed to speak with Gaster. He knew the way to freedom, she didn't.

Everything around her turned to black and he appeared, sitting in front of her. With him by her side, Frisk felt more confident, although leaving M.K. behind and the the guilt made her convictions more fragile than she would have wished.

\- «Where do we go now?» the girl asked.

\- «Good to see you too dearie. I see you're quite eager to go home, aren't you?» He said, with a point of sarcasm in his tone and a smile on his face.

Frisk frowned. She didn't want to have to deal with his sass. The idea of betraying her only true friend amid the madness she was in already consisted in a too big burden.

Gaster noticed her annoyed expression and adopted a more serious attitude.

\- «Right. All jokes aside, we are right now, as you know at the Waterfall Lake. This place is in the middle of a gravitational anomaly and some of its streams float in the air, flowing water around the Isle. One of those streams leads right to what the monsters call their capital. That's where we are headed next. In that city, we"ll be able to find out where a certain person named Alphys hides. She might hold the key to our freedom, and thus, we need to find her.»

\- «Alright. I guess you'll guide me to that stream, won't you?»

\- «Most certainly, dear child.»

Frisk stood up and Gaster faded away as the blackness wore out. She was determined to succeed and find her way to the capital. Outside of the little cave, she spotted a path of flying rocks floating not so far from the one M.K. had taken earlier.

 _That is where you'll have to go._

Frisk listenned to her guardian and headed towards the rocks. As she climbed them, she looked over M.K.'s path and felt some regret. She should have told him the truth, and maybe he would have understood, maybe followed her and supported her. But it was now too late.

When she reached the top, she saw a basin of water layed out in front of her. The only way across was constituted of a wooden pathway floating on the water. As she walked on it, she peaked overboard and watched the weirdest paradox in existence; there were schools of fish lazily swimming, and, below the crystal-clear water, floated small clouds. It felt as if she had been at the bottom of the sea and watching towards the surface. How odd.

She went on, trying to think of something else than M.K.'s sad expression. However, she did not have to do so for too long. A small fog appeared in front of her. It was not much bigger than she was. And as she looked closer, she recognized the small ghost from earlier. It was standing in her way.

\- «Hello?» Frisk said as she approached it.

It turned its face towards her, looking spooked.

\- «Oh... you shouldn't be here... This is not a place for humans...» it said.

Frisk took a step back, now frightened as well.

\- «You... you know I"m human?»

\- «Oh... Yes, but, don"t worry... I don't really care about the living... They are too loud...»

\- «So... You won't attack me?»

\- «No, I'm really not feeling up to it, sorry...»

\- «Then, I can go on this way? You won't stop me?»

\- «No, I won't, but he might...» the little ghost said as he vanished.

A hand seized Frisk's shoulder, holding it with a strong grip. She turned around and saw it again; the bright blue eye.

\- «Oh oh oh... You are in big trouble, young lady.» the blue eyed foe said.


	25. The Pendant

Frisk tried to escape the monster's grip, without success. However, in the daylight, she could see him with more ease; he was not much taller than her and wore torn clothes, which were also old and dirty. A hood was covering his head and the remaining part of his severed arm was wrapped into a bandage. She also was not surprised to see how mad he looked. But, most interestingly, he, like Papyrus, was a skeleton.

\- «Let me go! You... you... monster!» she screamed.

As she was trying to fight back, he grabbed her forearm with even more strength.

\- «Stop shouting you brat, do you want someone to find us?» the monster told her.

She looked at him with incomprehension. Shouldn't he wish for a mob of monsters to come and surround her with forks and torches? Weren't humans public ennemy number one? Unless, she thought, he wanted all of the fame and credits all for himself.

\- «I said let go!» she shouted.

The girl finally succeeded to get rid of the skeleton's grip, but fell forwards. However, before she could touch the ground, Frisk felt the most intense vertigo of her life; her vision faded, the sky became the ground-or did it?-she could not tell. All of her orientation senses seemed to be gone and it reminded her of when she almost drowned before reaching the Isle. A senseless fall that could only break your breath. And then, she touched the ground and the shock reminded her it still existed despite her out-of-this-world episode. What had happened?

She looked around, she was back at the little cave she had just left, and the skeleton monster was standing right next to her, blocking the exit. There were no other ways out.

He bent towards her and said:

\- «Listen, child. I"m not really willing to kill y'a, but I might have to. But that can come later. No, what I truly want to know, is where you got this.»

He then pointed with a finger towards her pendant. She looked at him, surprised.

\- «Why... why do you want to know?»

\- «Look kid, I have no idea what you were told about this place. But one thing is for sure, you could not have arrived at a worse moment.»

\- «I did not make the choice to come here! I did nothing wrong! Please, don't kill me!»

\- «Calm down kiddo, I'm just telling you, things are not going well around here right now. And that pendant you have around your neck, well I really need it. Give it to me and tell me where you got it, and, well, I'll let you go, though it doesn"t mean you will last very long.»

At first, it sounded like a potential deal, although the loss of her protector would represent a great loss in this world she knew nothing about. She would be directionless and defenceless. Still, she considered it. After all, wasn't life priceless?

She started to reach for the pendant, meaning to give it to the skeleton, but something stopped her in her movement. She could not tell if it was fear, uncertainty or something else. Whatever the answer was, though, she was not able to continue her motion. Giving the pendant away was an impossibility. She retracted her hand.

\- «I... I can't give it to you I-» she started.

\- «Oh well, I guess I have to do everything, don't I?»

His hand moved towards the pendant, which, oddly, started to glow.

\- «No, wait you don't understa-»

As he touched the heart locket, a purple blast of magic propelled him backwards with an astonishing force. He fell down at an impressive distance and stayed on the ground, knocked out. She could not believe what had happened. But, even in her incredulity, she seized the occasion and ran out of the cave, feeling, however, a little light-headed. In her rush, she did not even take the time to see where she was going and noticed she had opted for a staircase leading to one of the floating pieces of land, which had a river crossing into it. The river in itself floated in the sky, but was passing through the floating piece of ground . As she reached the top, she felt even weaker. Was it due to the adrenaline dropping down, or the fear coming back to crush her soul? As far as she could tell, the only thing Frisk wished was to sleep. She approached the river in order to catch her breath. However, the fatigue was gaining her. And thus, the world turned black and she slept.


	26. Tra la la

Sleeping is always facilitated when led by a constant movement accompanied with warmth and a repetitive sound. Any insomniac could find slumber with these three criterias respected, whether they experience it in the womb (as all mammals once did), at the wheel of a car (which is incredibly dangerous, please do not try), or, let's say, on a moving boat. However, what would happen if one of the criterias-being warmth, movement and a calming, constant sound- ended up being disturbed? It was not the movement of the boat, for it kept going forward lazily, nor was it the sound, since a sweet humming was still filling her ears, thus, the guilt of her awakening was most certainly the loss of warmth. And for cause; as her body laid on the drifting wood, her hand had slipped into the water on which it floated.

All groggy and numb, Frisk slowly woke up, annoyed by the wetness on her hand. She sat up and shook her head, still trying to chase away her drowse and her dreams. Then, she realized where she was-on a little boat, making its way on one of the many streams flowing in the Waterfall Lake's region. Little boat being directed by a tall figure all covered by a large cloak, whose face looked forward, turning its back to her. A little humming came from him-or her? How could she know?-

Frisk cleared her throat and simply said:

-«Excuse me?»

The tall person turned to her. They had no face, only two bright eyes shining under the dark a their hood. The only response the child got was:

\- «Tra la la... I am the River Person, what is your destination?»

\- «I... I don"t know, I just... I think I fell asleep and...»

\- «Oh! Yes, you fell asleep in the water. You are not a fish. Water isn't a safe place for ground people to sleep. So, I picked you up on my boat. Now, where do you want to go?»

\- «Don't you monsters want to kill me? I am, after all, a human, don't I represent a threat to you?»

\- «Will you keep me away from the rivers?» The thing asked.

\- «What? No, I would never-»

\- «Good, you are then my passenger. What will your destination be?»

Frisk remembered about having to head towards the Capital. So she asked:

\- «Could you take me to the Capital?»

\- «Not from this stream dear. Maybe from another.»

Frisk sighed.

\- «Alright, then get me to the closest you can get to it if... you don't mind?»

\- «Indeed I can. Enjoy your ride.»

Flying freely through the sky is one of many men's dream. However, without wings or proper technology, it is one difficult and treacherous achievement. So it is obviously eccentric to even to think one would be navigating through clouds, for the only water in the sky, in a world full of sense, is destined for rainy days and snowy months. How improbable was it to float on a little piece of wood, which itself floated on the waters of a flying river? Frisk let her hand touch the water as they went, now enjoying its cold embrace and the view around her. Where she was, they floated above the thick clouds covering the Isle, and hence for the first time since she had gotten there, she could escape the Isle"s darkness to admire a colourful dusk. All the while listening to the humming emanating from the strange sailing creature.

And then, she noticed the absence of motion. The river Person-as it had called itself-had stopped the little boat in front of a piece of land. There, a wooden deck met them and Frisk stood up.

\- «This is as close as I can get you at the moment.»

\- «Thank you for the ride!»

But, as she started to leave the boat, the River Person strongly grabbed her by the arm and plunged its shining protruding eyes into hers, to then only say:

\- «Beware of the man who came from the other world.»

The River Person then let go of her. Frisk, spooked, quickly ran on the deck and then on the land. Looking over her shoulder, she only saw the odd being leave with its boat, only and ever humming...

Tra la la...


	27. On the Verge of a Catastrophe

It was getting darker. Well, the Isle was generally cloudy and not much light reached the ground, except maybe on some of the highest locations of the Waterfall lake. However, at the moment, the sun was tiring behind the horizon and about to leave Frisk alone for the night. Luckily, though, she still had some time to find a safe haven for the night.

The evening's skies were covered in orange and purple and watching the dusk from so high above the ground would have been truly enjoyable if she hadn't been running. The River Person had been truly odd and eerie, which is why Frisk did not intend to stay nearby it for too long. She ran on levitating plains of grass connected to each other thanks to well crafted bridges and ladders. As she went on, the girl scared a swarm of sleepy butterflies that had laid casually on the trees and the tall herbs. They flew away as she passed by, enveloping her in the glint their colourful wings emanated.

She wished to stay and watch them go, but could only focus on going straight ahead. She was lost and had no idea where to go to, but, at the same time, could not stop running. She felt trapped in a lucid and never-ending nightmare, full of forbidden brightness she could only admire from the dark. As if she were a shadow fading away into the void. Her misadventures, both with the intimidating skeleton and the strange ferryman, left her afraid for her life.

Although, maybe it was not so wise to worry about the past when, in the future, she could have prevented another unwanted encounter. Frisk went up some stairs and found at the top a group of monsters laughing with each other, all sitting around a bonfire. At first, they didn"t pay much attention to her entrance, but then, one of them lifted his (horse-like?) head and spotted her. Once it had, all the heads turned towards her and each stopped talking. A tense silence passed until one of the creatures spoke the feared word.

\- «Human.»

Suddenly, all their faces, previously full of grin, now confused, then turned aggressive. Those who sat got up and those who were up looked prepared to charge. Frisk gasped, took small steps behind, turned around and ran, again. But this time, the danger was real. And she was alone.

However, while all of it had happened, the sky had gotten darker and Frisk feared to not be able to outrun the monsters in the dark. In her back, the beasts were howling and calling for reinforcements. She had to hurry, even though she was feeling tired and her legs hurt. She wondered how long she could continue that way.

Afar, she saw torches being lit and heard voices rise in the dark. Thankfully, though, her pendant started to shine with its purple glow, letting her see a little around her. But Gaster had been silent for quite a while now, and he still wasn't offering any kind of reaction, even though she needed more help than ever at the moment.

And then, the worst happened; she tripped and fell down a little staircase. Frisk ended up on the grass and was dizzy and hurt from the incident. She was trying to get up when she noticed a figure in shining armour standing right in front of her, a strange, blue spear in her hands.

\- «Your journey ends here, human.» a womanly voice said, emanating from the armour.

She lifted her spear and started to bring it down, trying to slaughter the girl. Frisk, though, saw it coming and rolled to the right, avoiding it. She then got up her feet and started to escape again, though slower than she would have wanted.

\- «Come back here!» shouted the knight.

Frisk quickly realized she had reached a dead-end. The small parcel of flying land she was on only had two ways in and out; both blocked by the warrior and her weapon. The child looked down and saw nothing but darkness. There were two choices offered to her; stay where she was and wait for a certain death, or jump into the abyss of uncertainty.

She did not think for too long, crossed her fingers, and jumped.


	28. Loophole

Physics is a cruel mistress, especially when it comes to falling. The higher the jump, the faster you go. And the worse becomes water tension. So, of course, jumping more than ten meters high and landing in water at a ninety degrees angle was not the most appreciable experience Frisk had gone through, but it was much better than shattering her bones on the ground below. However, even if her adrenaline was at its highest, she still had one problem to deal with; like before, she couldn't swim in such a great current.

She got sucked into the steam and felt her body being moved forward while all the while spinning on itself. Not only was she a bit confused due to the shock of hardened and cold water swallowing her whole, now she was dizzy. Panic quickly started to grow within her, numbing her mind and senselessly agitating her limbs. She tried to grab something-land, floating debris, or anything else-but remembered that the streams of the Waterfall Lake floated in open air. There was nothing to use as a life buoy.

As the girl was about to truly to succumb to the fear growing in her guts, she felt her vest being grabbed and pulled toward the surface. When Frisk's head got above out of water's hold, she took a deep breath of fresh air and coughed out the water that had gotten stuck in her respiratory system. She was then completely pulled out of the river and laid down on the rocky shore. The child took a moment to catch her breath and stayed still, laying on her side. But then, she turned to her right, wary of what she'd see, and to her relief, M.K. was sitting there, his clothes still soaked in water. He looked at her, his eyes full of intermixed relief, confusion, and fright. He simply said:

-"Hey… Are you… Are you a human?"

He looked shy while asking his question, as if he had told a forbidden atrocity.

The girl simply nodded at him and then turned towards the sky. It was now fully of a million stars, shining away, not caring about her mortal issues. She was about to lose her friend.

-"That's fine." He said, while looking down, almost ashamed of his own words.

She turned her head towards him, surprised.

-"You're a good person. And you're my friend! Ok, I felt very when you ditched me earlier today, but then I saw you from afar, falling into the water. I know, we are not supposed to be on the same side, but… I don't want to see you get hurt."

She sighed.

-"I'm sorry. About earlier…" Frisk said with a tired voice.

M.K. looked up.

-"Thank you." She said.

It made him smiled.

-"I guess you had your reasons. No worries, I don't need to know why. You're ok, and that's what counts, no?"

He was probably the most innocent person she had ever met. And the most generous.

-"We should probably get away from here." Frisk said.

-"Agreed." He answered.

M.K. helped her up and they started walking-she could not go any faster. After a little while, she felt warmer and her legs hurt less. They eventually moved faster, the obscurity playing in their favor.

-"So… where did you want to go to?" the monster asked.

-"I need to get to the capital. I think I can get what I need there."

-"I see. Well, I know a way to get there."

She followed him on various bridges, ladders and land platforms, going through the last parts of the Waterfall Lake. He then entered a little tunnel with stairs going down. They arrived at a little cave with three entrances; the one they had come from, and one for each extremity of the stream, which were up and downstream. There was a little dock over the water and a bell was fixed to a stick planted in the ground. M.K. approached it and rang it with his tail.

-"We won't wait too long, I promise." The monster said.

To her surprise-and horror- the River Person showed up after a few minutes on its little boat. Which she could not understand, considering that the last time she had seen it, it was far away, on another stream. How could it have travelled so far so quickly, and against the natural flow of water? She did not dare to ask.

-"Tra la la… I am the River Person, what is your destination?" it said with its empty voice.

The boat stopped next to the dock and M.K. asked to go to the capital. The River Person accepted and invited them on the boat. Frisk followed, but stopped before hopping, hesitating. M.K. looked at her, waiting for her to join him.

 _You should go with him. We don't have much time._

Frisk almost jumped of fright. It was the first time in hours that Gaster had said anything. Before asking him mentally what he meant, she heard the mob of monsters approaching, chasing her. She then forgot about being scared of the River Person and hopped onto its boat, telling it to leave as fast as possible. M.K. and Frisk left as an angry pack of monsters, led by the mighty knight in armor, gathered on the dock, only able to watch them leave.

They both sighed of relief and sat down next to each other, silent. The night was beautiful, and the moon was full.

-"Little girl, are you following my advice?" said the River Person, out of nowhere.

It was talking about not trusting the "man from the other world." She wasn't sure what it meant.

-"I'll try." She answered.

M.K. looked confused.

-"What advice?"

-"Nothing." She answered.

Yes, truly a beautiful night.


	29. The Capital

They flew over the ground on water, watching the horizon and the starry night, admiring it from afar. It was a full moon, and the sky was empty of clouds. A silver light filled the air, giving the blue flora an odd effect. Gradually, though, the river they were sailing on started to go down slowly towards the ground before gaining back its bed and its rightful place, where gravity had intended to have it. For a little while, they went through woods, guided by the water's illuminating glow. Then, it ended at a pond with a docking area. Thankfully, due to the late hour, no one was around to see the strange caped figure stop its boat to let its two small passengers gain back the solid ground. It then left, always humming, into the night.

The children were exhausted. M.K. led Frisk into the forest and they later arrived into a small open area, and the ground was covered in flowers. M.K simply laid down on them, his head turned towards the sky. She imitated him, and was surprised to find the ground as soft as a cloud. Or maybe in her fatigue did it feel like the most comfortable bed in the world. She did not care. Laying there was a delight, knowing why wasn't important at the moment.

-"There's no one who lives around here, we should be fine for tonight." Said M.K., his head still turned towards the night.

Frisk slightly nodded and fell asleep. For how long, she had no clue, but when she awoke, the sun was up in a grey sky. She woke up a tired M.K. and stretched. She was ready to leave, however, her friend stopped her in her motion.

-"I can't go with you." He said, looking at his feet, ashamed.

-"But… Why?" She asked.

-"I've never been away from home for so long. I have to go back. I'm sorry…"

Frisk felt sorrow climbing up her throat. She swallowed it before it came out as a weep.

-"I understand…"

He looked up.

-"Could you at least give me some advice before leaving? I'm about to enter unknown territory and I have no one to guide me around." She said.

That, of course, was a lie, but he did not need to know. M.K. looked concentrated for a moment and then presented his bag to her.

-"I have a raincoat poncho in my bag. Not only should it fit you, but it's got a hood, so it'll cover a good part of your body. Then, you should probably put some paint or makeup on your face. You should be disguised enough afterwards."

-"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Anything else?"

-"Well… The Capital is, obviously, full of monsters, but… It's not the only threat you'll face… The area is almost always covered in clouds and thunderstorms are very frequent. Be careful, I've heard that there are many lightning rods around, but I've also been told that they aren't efficient enough. Accident are frequent, so watch the skies, they are angry."

Frisk nodded, her guts a little twisted by fright and stress.

Then, she proceeded to take the electric blue raincoat from M.K.'s bag and put it on. It was her size and it did hide most of her body. He then guided her to a path that, according to him, would lead her straight to her destination. Once they gained it, they told each other "Goodbye" and hugged. Frisk watched him leave and waved. She would miss him. But, she couldn't risk having him involved in such a perilous adventure anymore.

She turned around and went down the path. While walking, she came across a bush of wild berries. They looked like blueberries, but it wasn't quite the same fruit. Frisk wasn't sure they were edible -and so wouldn't risk tasting them- but, she still needed something to complete her disguise. She took some of the berries, crushed them and applied their juice on her face and arms before putting on the hood. With a little luck, she would go unnoticed. At least for a while.

While approaching the Capital, the wooden signs planted here and there became more frequent and were in better condition. She even crossed the path of some monsters who, thankfully, barely looked at her. Her disguise was working.

Alas, while gaining the top of a small hill, she finally saw it; the Capital. It was a city of tall buildings, all constructed on an impressive mountain. And in the skies roared thunder, dark clouds were floating over it, menacing the giant of steel with mother nature's wrath. At the top of the mountain was a building resembling a castle. But not the kind you would see in history books; that castle was yes, made of stone and towers, but its architecture was nothing alike what she knew of.

And, of course, she could see strikes of thunder raging in the sky and exploding on the ground. With every light came a loud sound and Frisk almost felt the need to hide and cover her ears. It was astonishing to see Nature's unleashed brutality just as much as it was intimidating. She then took a deep breath and reached her pendant with her left hand and thought:

 _"_ _Alright, I'm here. What now?"_


	30. Enjoy the Show

_"_ _I am glad to see you have made it this far. I must admit, I feared you would not succeed, yet here we are."_

 _"_ _Still, what do I need to do next? We can't stand here for too long. I need instructions!"_

 _"_ _Of course. See the castle up there? For now, only focus on reaching its grounds."_

 _"_ _Why?"_

 _"_ _It is not time for questions, dear. Simply do as I say."_

She felt annoyed by the lack of information she had, but complied anyways.

He then went silent as a group of monsters walked by. They did not pay much attention to her, although one looked suspicious before, thankfully, dismissing her presence and moving forward. They were receding from the Capital, which was good for the girl. She then started to proceed towards her destination, first by walking nervously, and then by running. The entrance to the city was formed of a tall door made from a golden like metal. It was engraved with symbols and gems. It was a truly beautiful piece of art, but also an impressive defense due to its thickness. Guards were posted on each side, watching the passersby with eyes worthy of hawks.

Fortunately for Frisk, the time was near the beginning of the afternoon, and people were flowing through the gates in and out of the city. And crowds are the best disguise. She slipped in between the monsters, making herself look small as much as possible. She watched the guards and tried to avoid catching their attention. However, one of them started to smell the air, as if he had detected a suspicious perfume. The guard entered the crowd, seemingly looking for her. She moved faster, making her way through the monsters around her.

Once she reached the interior of the Capital, the crowd widened and she lost her cover. Looking over her shoulder, the girl saw the guard still searching. She could not stay there. She ran through the streets, trying not to lose sight of the castle. However, she had to keep in mind that she could easily get lost in this citadel full of monsters. Taking random turns was not the wisest idea.

She stayed on the large avenues. They weren't narrowed, discreet, and left her in plain view, but there were enough people around not to draw unnecessary attention. She was advancing through what seemed to be a market alley. There were shops and stands selling all types of goods; clothes, furniture, food, sweets and even toys. She also saw two female monsters-one more feline, the other looking like an anthropomorphic crocodile-selling objects in a darker spot of the alley. However the fruits and vegetables looked malnourished, visible sign of how difficult it must have been to grow them within the Isle's overly eccentric weather.

Over their heads, the thunder was still moaning and shouting, as if it was angry at the ground and its inhabitants. Then, a strike of raging electricity fell onto the building Frisk was walking by. Thankfully, though, a lightning rod had taken the hit. It did spook everyone around, but none got hurt. The child continued, but was, strangely, distracted by music. She followed it, curious, to then arrive what seemed to be some kind of show. On a stage stood some kind of rectangular robot with long metallic arms. It was holding a microphone and a vast crowd was surrounding the stage, clapping and shouting out of excitement. The robot seemed to be some kind of entertainer, and it appeared it was doing a great job. The monsters were captivated.

When it rose a hand, the public calmed and the robot spoke.

-"Beauties and gentlebeauties! Welcome back to this live episode of "MTT and Local Stars!""

A round of applause and cheering followed. It was the perfect situation to pass unnoticed. She had almost made it past the mass, when the unexpected happened.

-"Today", the entertainer continued, "we receive the one, the only, the unique, Undyne the Undyyyyiiiiing!"

Frisk froze on the spot and turned her head towards the stage. The knight in shiny armor was there, right in front of her, however, her helmet was removed, and Frisk could see the character's face. She was actually beautiful despite a missing eye; red and short hair, delicate traits and -surprisingly- a genuine smile. She sat next to the robot and thanked him for inviting her.

-"If I remember well, Captain, you came here today to talk to us about a crucial subject, weren't you?"

-"Indeed I am. Today I come on this show to warn the citizens; there is a loose human in the Capital."

The public gasped loudly and started to spread a confused murmur. The robot, tough, overreacted by making an astonished noise into the microphone.

-"That is UNBELIEVABLE Captain! And what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be chasing the dreaded creature yourself!?"

-"Oh, but I am. Right now."

Undyne's eyes locked into Frisk's. The child felt her legs go numb and her blood freezing in her veins. Without thinking, she sprinted towards a small alley, which led to a narrow path between the buildings. The girl heard the Captain shout and go after her. With a bit of luck, maybe she'd lose the warrior through the maze of small streets, but quickly realized that she was lost and couldn't see the castle anymore. How was she supposed to find it now?

But then, as she thought all hope was lost, she heard a whisper, calling out to her.

-"Pssst! Pssst!"

Frisk located the sound, and saw a pair of yellow, glowing eyes hidden under the sewers' entrance.

-"Come here if you wanna live!" it said.

She heard the mighty warrior screaming, she was closing in.

The child then approached the eyes and entered the sewers, crossing her fingers for it not to be a trap.


	31. Right Beneath Their Noses

Frisk climbed down the stairs into the sewers and was welcomed by an execrable stench along with two strange shadows. They had protruding eyes, glowing into the dark. One pair was pink, the other, yellow. The latter belonged to the monster who had called her down there. She heard the mysterious strangers giggle as one of them lit up an old lantern. Their faces then became visible: they were two females, one of them looked like an alligator, as for the other, her features were more feline, making her think of a cat. Frisk recognized them from earlier; they were among the sellers she had seen on the main avenue. The child pinched her nose, for the odor in these tunnels of garbage was hard to tolerate. The two monsters looked amused by her small tolerance towards the smell.

-"Hi hi! You're adorable!" said the yellow eyed feline.

Frisk looked at them with confusion. Upstairs, she heard the warrior, along with what she assumed to be guards, shout and stumble around, looking for her.

-"Why did you help me hide?"

The alligator giggled once more.

-"Why, isn't obvious?"

-"For the fame sweetie!"

Frisk was even more perplex then before.

-"What do you mean, fame? Isn't this situation going to put you two in trouble?"

-"Uh, duh, that's the point honey." said the cat monster.

-"If we become, like, the greatest criminals of the Isle, we'll be mega famous."

-"Everyone's gonna talk about it."

-"And with a little luck, Mettaton could interview us!"

The two then proceeded to screech out of excitement.

-"We should keep going, though. Where are you headed sweetheart?"

-"We know the sewers by heart! We can get you anywhere."

-"Um… The castle?"

-"Alright, then follow us. By the way, I'm Catty and that's my best friend of all time, Bratty."

The two monsters started walking through the tunnels. The child followed them, making sure not to step into anything suspicious-which represented most of the ground.

-"So… what is so special about that Mettaton? Is it the robot that was performing in the streets earlier?"

The two gasped, apparently astonished by her lack of knowledge.

-"He's like, THE biggest celebrity on the Isle!"

-"Yeah, like, he's the hottest. And if we get an interview with him, we're totally gonna show him how cool we are."

-"Then, he won't have a choice, but to hang out with us all the time."

-"From what I understand, you two are helping me only in order to attract his attention?"

-"Yeah, well, basically, yes."

The two giggled.

 _Well, it appears that these two thick headed ones will be of a great help to us without even realizing the impact of their actions._

Frisk then giggled back at Gaster's words, the two monster females having no clue why the child was so amused.

The trio then proceeded through the sewers for what seemed an eternity. The whole place reeked, but after a while, Frisk got used of the harsh smell and could somewhat tolerate it. Over their heads, she heard the tempest of guards calm down and recede. It was a good sign. As she thought they would never arrive, they stopped under an exit, whose light shone in the darkness like a promise of freedom.

-"Ok, so, up there you should see the castle right away, like it's impossible to miss it."

-"We're gonna go to the other side of the city and tell everyone we saw you and helped you."

-"Oh and if you get caught, please tell the guards we helped you. Now, see y'a honey."

Frisk was bedazzled by the situation.

 _"Not to be mean, dearie, but these two young ladies seemed pretty lunatic and foolish, to my humble opinion."_

 _"Well… I cannot disagree with you."_

The two monsters disappeared in the dark and left her alone in the cone of light. Not willing to stay down there any longer, she climbed up and was greeted by the delicious smell of flowers and fresh bread. She was standing in a little alley leading to a street decorated with exquisite trees, bushes and flowers, where numerous outdoor cafés and restaurants were filled with customers to satisfy, and people who craved to talk over nice food. But, most importantly, not far from there, rose the castle in all its elegance. She was relieved to see there was no fence surrounding it, making her task much easier.

As Frisk started to walk around and appreciate being out of the sewers, she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She expected it to be a guard's, but it turned out to be much, much worse.

-"Well, hi there, little buddy."

The skeleton.

He was alive, and back to eliminate her.


	32. Unexpected Alliance

The scene was surreal. Of all things, she had not expected to simply be casually sitting there, at the table of a café, surrounded by monsters too absorbed by either their meal or conversation to even notice how unrealistic her position was. The skeleton was sitting in front of her, drinking what seemed to be a type of tea she had never seen before.

When he had caught her, she thought he would have simply waved at the guards and delivered her to them. Or to be killed on the spot. After all, that's what he had tried in the past. But, it apparently did not happen. Instead he had directed her to the nearest available table, sat her down and joined her before ordering his drink. Frisk had to admit that this situation was even more unsettling than the other scenarios she had played in her head.

And now, they were simply sitting there, and she could not find the force to do anything, not even move. He then put his cup on the table and started talking.

-"I don't think we've ever been properly introduced. The name is Sans."

She froze, and felt like she couldn't move enough to talk. He sighed and leaned over a little.

-"Listen, I know that you're scared. Hell, you must be terrified. But I assure you, it's not in my interest right now to hurt you or turn you in to the authorities. So, let's just talk. What's your name?"

After a moment, she answered:

-"I don't understand. First, you try to kill me, then to rob me, and now you want to have a friendly chat with me? I don't get what your position is into all of this. On what side are you?"  
Sans smirked.

-"Consider me as… a third party. An outside player. I don't have a side but the greater good. I always act with a reason, never without."

-"You didn't really answer my question."

-"To be fair, neither did you."

She looked around, a bit paranoid.

-"I'm Frisk."

-"Frisk? Uncommon name. So, a noble, heh?"

The girl froze on her chair.

-"How do you know something like that?"

-"We don't especially like humans around here, but we do know much more about your culture than you'd think. How did you get here? Not the kind of place for someone of your rank to visit."

She glanced at him with a death stare.

-"Alright, maybe I went over my boundaries. Perhaps you'll tell me someday."

-"If I live long enough for that." She muttered.

-"Oh, you will, and I'm going to make sure of it."

-"How? And why would you?"

He looked around, and then whispered:

-"Listen, the situation here is a lot more weird and complicated than you think. I wish I could explain, but it's no safe enough. The walls have ears. I tried to prevent something from happening, but I have failed. Now, part of what I have to do to fix the situation is letting you reach your final objective. Then, I don't know what will happen, but I can tell you that I prefer knowing shit will go down and prepare for it rather than having a situation like the one I expect explode in my face."

-"And it involves me?"

-"Part of it does, yeah."

-"So, now what?"

-"Well, where do you need to go?"

 _Do not trust him._

Frisk hesitated, but seeing how she could not continue with Gaster's help alone, she decided to give the skeleton a chance.

-"I'm headed to the castle."

-"And then?"

She hesitated.

-"I don't know yet."

Something lit up in the skeleton's eyes. As if she had answered a question he had not dared to ask. She regretted her decision.

-"Alright kiddo, how do you expect to get in?"

Frisk looked at her feet, not really wanting to admit she had been improvising so far.

-"Hmm, I see, you don't have a plan."

She shook her head, a little ashamed.

-"Well, then it's your lucky day. I have one for you. Remember the first time we met? If you do, then you know I can teleport."

The girl nodded, recalling that frightening night.

-"But, this power is tricky. I can only transport to places where I've already been to. So, I can take you to the castle's hall, way beyond the guards, but from that moment, we'll be on blind territory."

-"There are no guards inside the castle?"

-"There are some, but most of them patrol outside, in the gardens. That's where the king spends the vast majority of his time. For the rest, I don't know yet where you're headed, so unless you want to tell me now, we'll have to improvise the next step when we'll be there."

Frisk expected Gaster to tell her what he expected her to do after the castle part, but he stayed strangely silent, even though she begged him in thoughts to help her.

She shook her head.

-"I… I don't know."

-"Alright. Then follow me, we won't do anything by staying here."

He finished his tea with a final swallow and got up. She followed him to an isolated part of the street. As they were walking, he held her arm and at the moment when she thought nothing would happen, she felt her body become lighter before seeing it fade away into the unknown.


	33. WARNING-Do Not Proceed

Everything went upside down. It did not last long, but it was enough to make the content of her stomach come back up into her mouth. As she felt herself land on her feet, she fell, kneels on the ground, and puked. She then coughed and tried to catch her breath.

-"Sorry, I should have warned you about that. The first times can make you very dizzy."

Frisk looked at him with angry eyes.

Only then was she able to see where they had spawned. It was a long hallway with marble floor. The ceiling was high over their heads and supported by massive columns made out of a very beautiful white stone. The whole place was lit in a golden light, which differed from the usual faint blue that covered the entire island day and night.

Between the columns were beautiful windows of stained glass; most of them represented floral decors, except for one, huge and circular, dominating the others from the end of the hall. It was circular and enormous and depicted what appeared to be a family of monsters, all dressed in exquisite and rich clothing. Frisk approached it and admired the play of colors in it.

-"Who are they?" She asked.

-"The right question would rather be who they _were_. This picture represents the King and his family."

-"But… isn't the King alive?"

-"He is, however, his wife, the Queen, well… she's been missing for quite a while now. Not sure what she's become. As for the two kids… They… *sigh* let's just say they're… asleep."

She looked at him.

-"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Did you know them?"

-"No, not really, but I remember this event caused a huge commotion."

Smooth footsteps started to resonate not so far away. The skeleton looked over his shoulder.  
-"We should get going. We're not supposed to be here."

He went towards the entrance of a new hallway, one narrower and less grandiose than the previous. At the end was a door, which they opened to find on the other side a gigantic octagonal room with a golden throne at its center. A red velvet carpet lead to it from a more official door. The duo crossed the room rapidly. However, as she pondered where Gaster was sending her, she felt her feet stop as they passed in front of a massive pair of wooden doors that stood on the wall behind the throne. It had several locks and a sign on the wall read

WARNING  
NOW ENTERING THE CORE  
Only authorized personal may pass beyond this point.

 _There._

Her whole body went towards it, not really following her will. Her companion saw and looked at her strangely. Though, he joined her in front of the door and started to look at the lock's mechanism.

-"I…I think I have to go there."

-"Alright."

He then proceeded to take something from one of his pockets. It was a magnetic card, which he passed in front of a detector. A clicking noise then timbered, and the doors slowly opened.

-"You… work here?"

He grinned.

-"Eh, no, but I know someone."

Behind the doors opened a vast and circular tunnel, slowly descending underground. There were lights on the walls that shone gently and an odd sense of warmth submerged her body.  
However, as they started to go in, she heard people approaching rapidly while shouting vividly. Metallic sounds accompanied them.

Guards.

-"Crap." Said the skeleton.

 _Run._

They fled towards the penumbra beneath them. And as they went, the warmth became an oppressive heat. The tunnel went in zigzags, always going deeper and deeper. And then, when they got near its end, she was blinded by an incredibly orange light mixed with red. As they exited the tunnel, they found themselves on a rocky platform that stood over a magnificently intimidating river of lava. The air was so hot she could watch it dance and bounce against the walls. Huge downfalls of lava surrounded them and in front was a long suspended bridge crossing over the flames. It was high over it and gave her some vertigo.

The guards were still coming after them, which pushed them to precipitate themselves onto the bridge. Sans went first as Frisk followed close. She was halfway through when something hit her leg and made her trip. Sans did not notice and kept going. As she laid on the not-so-solid-looking-bridge she saw, planted next to her on one of the bridge's planks of wood, a long and luminous spear.

-"Oh, no."

Undyne, the mighty knight, screamed as she ran towards her. The great shouting alerted Sans, who had reached the other side of the lava river, turned around to see the Captain running towards Frisk, and he was too far to intervene. Even if he had teleported, it would have taken too long to stop the warrior.

Frisk, however, thought quickly and grabbed the spear next to her, blocking in extremis Undyne's strike. The impact was strong and made the bridge shiver. At the other end of the bridge were two knights in black armor, shouting and cheering. She struck another time, and the girl rolled on the side to avoid the attack. The warrior's spear pierced the bridge. However, when she took it off the wooden plank, she hit, probably by accident, the rope that maintained the bridge. It got twisted on its side and they got grabbed onto it in order not to fall off. And then, they saw the second rope getting thinner and weaker every second, until, to their horror, it broke.

-"Frisk!" Sans shouted.

The girl held the bridge as she felt gravity bring her down towards a pit of never-ending fire.


	34. The Parlor

She braced herself, awaiting the greatest scorch of her life as her body descended towards the orange and red lake of demise raging beneath. But, instead, she collided with force against a rock wall. The girl almost let go of her grip, but managed to hold still and avoid a terrible fate. She opened her eyes and noticed that she was hanging on one of the bridge's broken halves, whereas the warrior was hanging on the other, over the opposite side. She saw her climb up swiftly the unstable structure and reach the top, where she reunited with the guards who had accompanied her. Frisk heard them shout and saw one point at her. With the bridge gone, they could not reach her anytime soon. They went through the tunnel leading to the throne room, probably with the means of using another passageway into these caves filled with fired.

-"Frisk! What are you doing?! Climb up!" Sans shouted.

She slowly, but surely, made her way to the top, and the skeleton helped her up the platform. She panted and stayed on the ground a little, catching a breath she had not noticed was gone. Her companion let her rest a bit and asked her if she was doing alright. She wasn't sure anymore.

-"Why was this bridge so fragile!?" She asked.

-"It's an old passage way to the Core. Almost nobody uses it today. But it sure is the least guarded of all, so it probably was worth it."

She didn't know why, but that specific word, _Core_ , made her freeze. She _knew_ this word. Somehow. And one thing became clear.

-"That's it." She whispered.

-"What do you mean?" the skeleton pondered.

-"The Core. I don't really know how or why, but I have to get there!"

He looked at her silent, to then help her up and say:

-"Well, then I suppose we should get going."

Once on her feet, he led her on a narrow path. On one side was a rocky wall, but on the other only stood a thin rope fence barely preventing anyone to fall into the flow of lava that raged besides it.

-"So… what is this Core anyways? Why is it so far below, in such a hostile place?"

-"It's a geothermal facility. We produce all of our electricity down there. The heat is converted into power, so an active lava zone was perfect to plant it."

She looked around. The entire place was so filled with heat she could feel her "makeup" become liquid and mix with her sweat, washing it away. On the other side of the narrow path, right next to a lavafall, they found an old elevator. It looked quite rusty, but still worked, Sans assured. They got in and were delighted by a fresh breeze of cold air. Sans pushed one of the buttons, which said "Core" on it. Others had more strange and cryptic names, such as "Puzzle Factory", "The Parlor", or even "Dock". What kind of boat could navigate on lava?

The elevator started with a smooth engine noise and they started going even deeper underground. It was at that moment Gaster decided to manifest himself.

 _"_ _He's leading you into a trap."_

 _"What? No, he isn't!"_

 _"This elevator is broken. If not stopped at a higher level, it doesn't go below The Parlor, which is the lair of a terrible creature."_

 _"How could you possibly know that?"_

 _"I've been on this Isle for far too long to not know its secrets. Trust me, once these doors open on it, run away from him."_

 _"I… I hope you're wrong."_

But he wasn't. A few seconds later, the machinery made an awful noise, the lights flickered and the elevator stopped violently. They fell to their knees and as they were getting back up, the gleaming lights ominously lit the doors while they opened on a dark and dusty room.

-"This isn't right. We shouldn't be stopping here!" the skeleton said.

-"Why are we stopping then?"

-"No clue." He said as he started to examine the control panel.

 _See?_

 _Gaster was right. It had been a trap._

 _"What should we do?"_

 _"Get out and run, I can help against the beast, and there's a fair chance he won't dare to follow."_

She slowly approached the doors, meaning to get out. Of course, Sans noticed it and lifted his head upon her strange behaviour.

-"Frisk… What are you doing?"

-"Nothing!" she said as she made another faint step towards the exit.

-"Frisk, don't-"

She didn't give him time to finish and rushed into the room, running. However, what she had thought to be dust turned out to be far more sticky and gummy.

-"Frisk! Get back in here! It's dangerous!"

Not listening to him, she kept going, but as she did, movement became more difficult as the ground was more and more covered with the strange substance. She was almost stuck when she heard a mild voice in the dark simply…laughing?

"Fu hu hu hu hu…"

The beast had awoken and was looking somewhere in the room, but Frisk could not tell from where the laughter had come. But one thing was sure; something was approaching.


	35. Fuhuhuhuhu

Movement became more and more difficult, to the point that she simply couldn't go forward anymore. She tried to pull on the substance that made her prisoner, but it only got stuck on her fingers. Frisk took a closer look, and saw that substance seemed to be… spider web? It, at first, struck her with absurdity, but she had to admit that in such a strange realm, it wasn't the most unlikely explanation.

Her first sight of the beast was a half circle made of five luminous dots shining menacingly in the dark of the Parlor. Frisk imagined it to be a huge and deformed bug-like creature, but she was most surprised to discover, coming out of the darkness, an elegant lady-like being equipped with two extra pairs of arms and three more eyes than her.

The girl moved, trying to free herself from her restraints, but they only got tighter as she did. The spider lady laughed at her attempt.

-"Fuhuhuhu… It's useless. You're trapped in here for quite a while."

Frisk stopped, and concentrated, asking Gaster for help. Her protector, however, remained silent. The spider approached and put her face up close to the child's. Despite her strange features, the girl had to admit she wasn't unpleasant to look at. It was, in fact, rather strange considering that Frisk held a strong arachnophobia. Nonetheless, the spider lady still seemed terrifying.

-"Hmm, why so blue sweetie? Is something troubling you?" she giggled. "You look terrible! And so stressed out! It will make your meat horribly tense! There is nothing worse than bad meat. Would a cup of spider cider help?"

The girl imagined straight away a cup filled with little spiders crawling onto her arm. So she shouted:

-"NO!"

And in front of the spider's outraged figure, she continued:

-"No! No… thank you! I… I'm not very thirsty."

The monster smiled again.

-"That's alright sweetie. I must admit it is a bit soon to drink. Also, where are my manners! You are my guest after all! Let's chat a little."

And as she said that, the spider lady lifted her in the air, still attached with web, and brought down from the upper darkness a table covered of beautiful utensils, plates, cups and a teapot. From the latter came out a scent of nice tea and on the plates were colorful yet suspicious looking pastries. The spider made herself a suspended chair out of web, then took a cupcake and bit into it.

-"Now, let's discuss your visit here. Do you know the saying that goes by 'Fool me once, shame on you, and fool me twice, shame on me?' Yes? Well, you see, since it is the first time I receive you as a guest, I have a little game to propose to you. Usually, I have a nice little tea session with my visitors and then… Fuhuhu, they constitute my main course. However, when it is the first time one falls into my webs, I give them a chance."

-"…Which is?"

-"Oh it is rather simple. You have to race to the exit, which is located deeper within my webs."

-"Race? So I have a time limit?"

-"Fuhuhuhu. Not exactly. But I cannot tell you more at the moment."

-"Do I have any other choice?"

-"Yes, well, you could simply choose to die. Don't worry, my venom acts… quickly."

After a long sigh, Frisk agreed.

-"I'll try your challenge." She said, shivering.

The lady joined all of her hands together in ravishment.

-"Fabulous! Come with me, I have to introduce you to my pet!"

As she said that, Frisk's restraints came loose.

-"Your… pet?"

She followed the spider into the darkness of the room until they stopped in front of a hollow opening. Frisk couldn't see the bottom. However, over it, she could perfectly see the lady's "pet". It was a huge and deformed spider with multiple glowing eyes and displaying what was by far the most terrifying mouth she had ever seen. It came down towards her, its jaw clacking and leaking some kind of ooze that seemed to be saliva. A cold breeze went down Frisk's spine.

-"Here's the game: get down there before my sweetroll and you'll live. For now. What are you waiting for? Go!"

And it is with a monster on her steps that Frisk started climbing down, trying to avoid the monster's deadly grasp.


	36. Tumbling Down

Left foot, right foot, stickiness on the hands and goo dropping from above. Those conditions were less than convenient for a race. Plus, Frisk did not have a natural talent for climbing up, even less down. She wanted to hesitate, take her time to think about her next move, but clearly, she was in a hurry. She had slowed down only once in her race, and the spider's beast had taken that opportunity to cut off part of her hair. It was pitch black down where she was headed, which did not make her task easier.

And then, the girl's hands and feet slipped, as she had feared most. She fell down and down into the abyss. She tried grasping the webs around her, but each time she missed. Her left leg encountered a solid obstacle and she went spiraling down, unable to balance her fall or to tell above from below. However, she could easily and clearly hear the beast shout into the distance, accompanied by the sound of its accelerated fury.

It felt as if she had enter an endless well of blindness, however everything reaches an end, even the lowest pit of hell. The girl saw said end approaching, the ground becoming clearer and more visible within seconds. There were few crystals on it; they irradiated a dim purple light.

Before she could crush her skull on its surface, though, she felt something warm grab her leg. It stopped her fall and her face stopped a few inches before hitting the ground. She lifted her head in order to see what had stopped her; and saw to her horror a strand of spider web connecting her to the foul beast up above. The latter was approaching slowly now, clicking its mandibles in excitement. Frisk had nothing to free herself.

Until she spotted a nearby crystal.

Its edge seemed sharp enough to cut through the web. It was, however, out of reach of her short arms. The girl cursed them and started to move her body in such a way that if she gave it enough force, she could balance herself towards it.

One swing forward, one backwards. Forwards, backwards. Forwards, backwards, forwards…  
Got it.

She grabbed onto it firmly and pulled in order to take it out of the ground. A piece of it broke and stayed in her hand. It wasn't so big, but it would do.

She lifted her upper body towards the web sticking her leg to the monster, which, for the record, was uncomfortably close. She swiftly cut through the white goo with the crystal and fell on the ground. The beast screeched as it let itself fall in her direction. The girl rolled over and braced for the incoming enemy.

The shockwave propelled her away and her frail body hit a rocky wall. She crawled away quickly before finding a way back on her legs. Still holding onto her crystal, she ran around the web infested cave and spotted a tunnel filled with crystals and purple lighting. It must have been the exit, no?

The groaning beast didn't leave her much time to think. She rushed for it and entered it swiftly. Behind, the creature stopped, for its massive body could not fit within the passage way. As the girl made her way out of the Parlor, she heard, coming from afar, a giggly voice shouting:

-"Come back anytime!"

As hell she would.

But alas, she was out, and away from Sans.

That traitor.

She thought. Or at least maybe she did. Did she? Anyways, he was now out of the picture, and so she would travel alone in those depths.

The tunnel was long and covered in crystals. However, as she advanced, the girl noticed they were more scattered and less present. The reason for this, she would soon find out, was the presence of a strong and ferocious light at the exit; she came out the tunnel to see the greatest wonder of this underground.

A massive building was erected at the center of a gigantic cavern. Almost every wall was covered in lavafalls. The temperature was unbearable, but survivable. The building was full of activity; turbines were plunged in the lava, creating some sort of power nourishing it, monsters in lab coats or armor walked in and out. Employees, she deduced. And to the roof climbed up huge cables, which seemed to bring electricity up to the surface.

 _There._

Her mentor said.

 _This is it; our final destination._


End file.
